Though Bonnie Zane has been nominated for comedy casting Emmys from the first year the awards category existed, she was most thrilled by the recognition of her peers, with a Casting Society of America Artios Award in 2000. In her acceptance speech, she thanked her sister—feature film casting director and fellow Artios winner Debra Zane—for getting her into casting.
With credits including Ed, Sports Night, The Larry Sanders Show, The Job, The Chris Isaak Show, and the forthcoming midseason The O'Keefes, Zane has made comedy her niche. After a quick tour of the home-turned-office she shares with Gayle Pillsbury and their staff of associates and assistants, we settled into the den-like session room for a quick chat before Zane rushed off to a table read on one of the pilots she's casting. Clearly she relishes seeing the work come together.
First casting job: After years in production, she worked as an assistant at Liberman Hirschfeld Casting at the recommendation of sister Debra. "She thought it was something I would be good at," said Bonnie. "I watch so much TV that television casting just made sense." By the time Zane left Liberman Hirschfeld, she'd begun casting NewsRadio; she took it with her and soon began casting Mad About You. She was joined two years ago by Pillsbury, a fellow Liberman Hirschfeld alumni.
Coolest casting gig: The pilot for Ed, which had ups and downs—mostly ups. "It wasn't picked up at CBS, so NBC got it and reshot the pilot with different scripts but the same cast all the way through it. It was such a long process, but it was the most rewarding, a true labor of love. I adore the cast, I worship the executive producers, and I love seeing how well it's done as a series."
Currently casting: Pilots galore. Zane and Pillsbury are currently casting a sitcom for CBS, two sitcom pilots for NBC, and one for ABC, and they continue casting The Drew Carey Show and The George Lopez Show for ABC. "I love comedy," Zane said. "I love to laugh."
Toughest part: "With pilots, it's always challenging to find new leading actors in the age range of 30 to 40. Right now we're searching for an attractive leading lady in her 30s. The challenge is matching the right actor to the right role, because a lot of these actors don't have a lot of success until the right role comes along. In casting a lead character, I'm most likely not going to be surprised anymore. We have to find someone who has been around, who is established, but who hasn't yet been matched to her perfect role.
"The challenge is there for leading men, too. Since Ed, everyone wants to find the next Tom Cavanaugh. That's my big joke each new season: I call Tom and say what a failure they've set me up for, asking me to find the next him. In every area of this business—the writer, producer, casting director, and especially actors—it's all the flavor of the month. It can be fleeting or it can be lasting.
"I think the difference is star quality, for any job," Zane continued. "We recently met this New York-based actress who definitely will be the star of a pilot this season. That star quality came through on her audition tape—which is really tough. If an actor pops on tape, there must be something there. When she arrived in person, the star quality was undeniable."
How far she'll go: Zane invests in talent when she knows it's right. "I spent several hours Sunday talking with an actress about her network test, the role, and some of the things happening within the casting process," Zane said. "Her fax machine was down, so I took a revised script to her home so that she'd have it for Monday's network test. I know it helped her tremendously: She got the part."
Does she attend theatre? She not only attends plays, she recently cast her first one, Turnaround at the Coast Playhouse. Starring David Schwimmer, Tom Everett Scott, Jonathan Silverman, John DiMaggio, and Jaime Ray Newman, this Roger Kumble play was scheduled to run only six weeks, but its success brought Zane back to cast for the extension.
"When I read the script, I said to Roger, 'This is the darkest thing I've ever read. It is so disturbing. Let's do it.' We had a table read with David, Johnny, and some friends at Roger's house. Later we were sitting in his kitchen, and Roger started describing the actor he wanted for the role of Seth. He gave me very specific bullet points of how he envisioned him, physically, and the qualities he should posses, and I said, 'Oh, you want John DiMaggio! That's exactly who you're describing.' The next day I had John's agent fax over his resumé to Roger, and John was the only one to audition for the role," she recalled. For the extension, Mark Feuerstein has been tapped for the role originated by Schwimmer and Gabriel Macht will replace Scott.
Advice for actors: "Listen to the casting directors. Trust us. We know what we're talking about," Zane said with a hearty laugh. "I once got a call from a producer who had a bad experience with a casting director and asked me, 'Can you just cast for America?' I know that there are some not-so-nice casting directors out there, but I believe it's nice to be nice. I always try to make actors feel welcome, work with them, and suggest adjustments. But you have to listen. I just don't understand when an actor won't make an adjustment after being given a specific note."
Zane speculated that the inability to make an adjustment comes from one of two things: actors simply not listening or actors having over-rehearsed to the point where an adjustment is impossible for them. "Ask questions," she advised. "And you don't have to use your middleman or agent. Call me if you have a question."
That said, she advised actors to know the limits of the interaction. "Don't chat the room up. Don't bring too much of your personal life into the audition early on in the process. At the callback, yes, you can share a little more—especially with pilots—because we're building a family at that point," Zane explained. "But it's not necessary to turn the audition into a cleansing of the soul. Remember, you are judged by everything that happens in the room—not just the audition."
Her favorite casting tale: "Tom Cavanaugh is a Canadian actor who had done a pilot a year before Ed, so he was known around town. He had read for a pilot that my friends, the NewsRadio producers, were doing. And they kept saying, 'You should meet this guy,' and I was like, 'Who the fuck is Tom Cavanaugh?' That's become the ongoing joke for me and Tom, whenever we see each other: 'Who the fuck is Tom Cavanaugh?'
"He was the second guy to audition for the lead role in Ed. We read close to 300 actors for that role. But his talent was undeniable. My associate and I looked at each other and said, 'That's our guy.' We knew he was it. The producers in New York weren't sure, because they saw him on tape—and you just never know from a tape. But we were certain."
What she would change about the casting process: "I'd like to see people start believing that they don't need a celebrity to lead a show. A name does not equal a hit. There's plenty of proof of that. I love to discover a new person to lead a TV show, to see people find success, to become big stars, become famous. We [casting directors] are in the shadows here, and we don't need to be thanked—although it is appreciated. I enjoy my own success, I'm not going to lie," Zane said, laughing. "But what's wonderful about this job is the success of others." BSW
Bonnie Zane, CSA
Zane Pillsbury Casting
585 N. Larchmont Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Casting Qs is a weekly column by Bonnie Gillespie focusing on the casting directors behind the projects. Suggestions for Qs are welcome via e-mail at CastingQs@yahoo.com.