Finding the cast for Edgar Wright’s buzzy horror flick “Last Night in Soho,” was not a simple task for casting directors, Nina Gold and Martin Ware. The story, about a London fashion student who time-travels to the 1960s and inhabits a nightclub singer’s body, required two distinct yet similar actors whose looks felt specific to each time period. It was new territory for the U.K.-based CDs behind “Chernobyl,” “The Power of the Dog,” and multiple “Star Wars” projects. However, once they found their aesthetic, Thomasin McKenzie as present-day Eloise and Anya Taylor-Joy as bygone-era Sandie, they were able to narrow down the rest of their selections. Here’s exactly how they found their cast for the upcoming thriller and also advice for actors trying to land their next role.
What went into casting “Last Night in Soho”? Where did the process begin?
Nina Gold: I guess we started with Thomasin’s character and Anya’s character, as they have to kind of complement each other. You had to feel like they could sort of slide into each other somehow.
Martin Ware: We had to try and cast [Mckenzie and Taylor Joy] parts alongside each other…but not look too similar, because it just becomes a bit [muddled]. It’s quite good that they’ve got some differences, but both their frame and size are fairly similar.
Did you search for actors whose looks fit into certain time periods?
NG: There was definitely a question of whether or not people looked right in a certain period. You do hear yourself saying or thinking, not that infrequently, “Yeah, they’re really great. But do they feel a bit modern?” It’s a thought that crosses your mind quite frequently. For [McKenzie’s present-day character,] we just wanted her to look timeless somehow. She was sort of out of place in her own world, also.
Where do you look for talent outside of agent submissions?
MW: It depends on what we’re looking for. If we’re looking for young people, then we will be going to talk to youth theaters in a certain area of the country, say.
NG: Or drama groups. We go to a lot of drama school shows and showcases.
How to Become an Actor in the UK What are some automatic red flags actors in the casting process should know about?
MW: Actors occasionally come in quite underprepared with the script just not knowing some basic information. Sometimes, we can only put out a certain amount of information about the project on the script. But even just having looked at those few sentences—not having done that just does the actor no favors, specially for a self-tape. If you’ve not been sent the whole script and you don’t quite know what the tone of the show is, maybe you see who the writer is and can work out: Actually, this is meant to be a comedy.
Self-tapes are growing in popularity. What makes a self-tape stand out?
NG: I personally like it when they just keep it simple. Some people really go to town and practically make the whole film! And then it’s pretty impressive, but it’s not necessarily revealing everything you need to know about the performance. It’s fun and you remember it, I guess. But just a fairly simple, plain [tape] just dealing with the text and the performance, rather than any other stuff, is pretty good.
MW: Don’t do tons of takes. It must be very hard for the actor to edit that. But any more than two takes of a scene in the first round is overwhelming.
This story originally appeared in the Oct. 28 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.
Looking for remote work? Backstage has got you covered! Click here for auditions you can do from home!
