Anyone who has ever seen a movie starring Keanu Reeves knows that good casting can make or break a film. Simply try to imagine some of the most iconic film roles in history being played by anyone other than the actors who made them famous. Can one picture Raging Bull starring Dustin Hoffman, or The Silence of the Lambs with Madonna as Agent Starling? With hundreds of thousands of actors to choose from, casting directors have a daunting job finding the perfect match of performer and character. Yet, for some reason, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences fails to recognize these hard-working CDs with awards of their own. Always one to give credit where it's due, Back Stage West has picked up the slack for the last eight years to present its list of Best Casting Oscars—our hypothetical but passionate picks for exceptional taste in casting.
We don't always go for the big actor showcases; indeed only two of this year's six nominated movies star actors nominated for Academy Awards. And budget has nothing to do with it; we can appreciate fine performances in spectacles such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World as much as we can those of smaller films such as In America. Some movies were just too easy to praise; how could Mystic River lose with the flawless ensemble of Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, and Marcia Gay Harden? And could anybody other than William H. Macy have played the titular character in The Cooler? We're looking for bold choices, fresh faces, or new takes on old faces that made us sit up and take notice. And aside from the following profiles, there are several honorable mentions we would be remiss not to praise.
Best Discovery: Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog; casting by Deborah Aquila and Tricia Wood.
A popular film actor in her native Iran in the 1970s, Aghdashloo found roles in America unrewarding and was primarily enjoying a healthy theatre career in L.A. when Aquila located her for the pivotal role of the wife in the adaptation of Andre Dubus III's tragic bestseller. Rumor has it that the CDs, unable to locate the right performer, began to ask the Iranian community for advice; Aghdashloo's name repeatedly came up. The search was worth it. As Nadi, she strikes a perfect balance between quiet suffering and proud strength as she sees her family crumble around her. The climatic scene—in which her husband (Ben Kingsley) returns home unable to give her bad news, and she reads it all in his face—is a chilling moment of unspoken agony. Even in the company of her Oscar-winning co-stars (Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly), Aghdashloo more than holds her own—and soon she might find herself in their standing. For her performance, Aghdashloo scored a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in this year's Oscar race.
Best Use of Cronyism: The Station Agent and Love Actually.
While CDs Kerry Barden, Billy Hopkins, and Suzanne Smith deserve kudos for finding memorable players to round out the cast of The Station Agent, the three lead actors were brought to the project courtesy of writer/director Thomas McCarthy. He wrote the roles specifically for Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, and Peter Dinklage in his quirky, offbeat film, and it's impossible to imagine a more fitting ensemble. The friendship forged by the trio feels authentic and natural, and their trust in McCarthy is evident. But that's what friends are for.
Similarly, CDs Mary Selway (a co-honoree this year for Master and Commander) and Fiona Weir had their hands full filling the eight love stories that make up the enormous ensemble cast of Love Actually. That so many big-name stars signed on probably had more to do with the involvement of writer/director Richard Curtis, as most of them had worked with him before. As Love Actually marked Curtis' directorial debut, he rounded up several old friends to make the leap a little smoother. Curtis' script for Four Weddings and a Funeral made Hugh Grant an international star, and Grant's work here as a lovesick Prime Minister is a nice complement to that performance. And in a wonderful case of nepotism, Grant's cousin Thomas Sangster is adorable as a lovesick 11-year-old. Colin Firth also appears in another romantic lead, following his swoon-inducing work as Mark Darcy in the Curtis-penned Bridget Jones's Diary. And no Curtis project would be complete without a cameo by Rowan Atkinson, with whom Curtis has paired in several projects, including the Mr. Bean and Blackadder series and the hilarious film The Tall Guy. Atkinson's Tall Guy co-star Emma Thompson also delivers a powerhouse performance as a wronged wife opposite her close friend Alan Rickman. It's a pleasure to witness the (clotted) cream of the English acting come together at last.
Best Comic Casting: X2; casting by Coreen Mayrs and Roger Mussenden.
One need only look at comic-book-to-big-screen adaptations such as The Hulk, Daredevil, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to see how wrong a film can go when the cast isn't letter-perfect. (Ben Affleck? What were they thinking?) But the casting directors of X2 (Mussenden worked on the original X-Men) added character faces and some new blood to the already flawless team of mutants to produce a sequel that bettered the original. Adding the great Alan Cumming to the mix as Nightcrawler was inspired, and the inimitable Brian Cox—cast here as baddie William Stryker—is a welcome sight in any picture. Lesser-known actors such as Kelly Hu (Yuriko Oyama) and Aaron Stanford (Pyro) were fresh faces that helped round out the returning mutants Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, and Famke Janssen. Now if they could just do something about the blah James Marsden as Cyclops.
Best Genetic Matches: Will Ferrell/James Caan in Elf; casting by Stuart Aikins, Sean Cossey, Susie Farris, and Howard Feuer. Ewan McGregor/Albert Finney and Alison Lohman/Jessica Lange in Big Fish; casting by Denise Chamian.
Who would have thought the 1970s tough guy James Caan could have sired the modern-day funnyman Will Ferrell? But, in Elf, the curly-haired actors make perfect sense as father and son—an inspired choice that pays off in big laughs yet is utterly believable because of the physical resemblance. In Big Fish, CD Chamian specifically set out to find pairs of actors who could believably play the same role at different ages. Ewan McGregor nailed the natural charisma of Albert Finney, and Alison Lohman and Jessica Lange shared more than just doe eyes and delicate features. We haven't seen casting this eerily prescient since Robert De Niro took on a young Marlon Brando in Godfather II.
The Anti-Hitchcock Award: The kids of The School of Rock; casting by Ilene Starger. Holes; casting by Amanda Mackey Johnson and Cathy Sandrich.
It was directing great Alfred Hitchcock who warned future generations never to work with animals or children, but at least two films last year disregarded that advice by offering intelligent performances from preternaturally talented tots. Jack Black may rule The School of Rock, but it would have had no heart without the work of child actors who make up the band. Robert Tsai on keyboards, lead guitarist Joey Gaydos Jr., and drummer Kevin Alexander Clark play their own instruments, and that is indeed Maryam Hassan belting out those tunes. All the kids are natural in their roles, never precocious or cloying.
Equally impressive is the work by the cast of Holes, particularly by rising star Shia LaBeouf, who also headlined the Project Greenlight movie The Battle of Shaker Heights. Other young actors to watch: Sangster (Love Actually) and Jenna Boyd, who played pivotal roles in both a hit comedy (Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star) and a powerful drama (The Missing).
The Lifetime Achievement Award: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; casting by Victoria Burrows, John Hubbard, Amy MacLean, Liz Mullane, and Ann Robinson.
These CDs won the 2002 award for their efforts on the first Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, and probably deserve it every year since for their tireless work on the massive undertaking of casting not one but three epics. It might have seemed a no-brainer to cast the majestic McKellen as Gandalf and Cate Blanchett as the Elf Queen Galadriel, but the perfection didn't stop there. All the parts were filled flawlessly—every orc, elf, hobbit, and dwarf present. As the overlooked son Faramir, David Wenham broke our hearts; and Faramir's father, Denethor, played by John Noble, was a brilliantly hissable new villain. All this, and Andy Serkis finally got his chance to be seen on-screen as a pre-Gollum Smeagol.
21 Grams
For his award-winning debut feature, Amores Perros, producer/director Alejandro González Iñárritu was intent on casting unknown theatre actors because he felt it would make the film "more believable." But as his follow-up was so cathartic and heavy-hearted, Iñárritu decided to hire seasoned casting director Francine Maisler to assemble his star-studded team for 21 Grams.
"This was very, very tough material to deal with, and any false note could've been dangerous for the whole story, so I knew I needed the best actors in the world," Iñárritu recently told BSW. "Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, and Sean Penn were a dream team for any director with good taste. The three of them are without question the best actors of my generation, so why not? What I like about them is, they are not stars as celebrities. They are actors who are stars because they are good. There's a big difference to me."
A big believer in detailed preproduction, Iñárritu had already spent three years living with the characters, so when it came time to cast 21 Grams, he knew them so well that he just looked for the quality he most loves in actors—a strong interior life. "Most actors normally have a lot of skills and crafts, but the spectacular ones have that interior life that you can see in their eyes," he said. "You can see that there's a lot of complexity and that there's a powerful interior person living inside, and I have a good detector for that." Iñárritu and Maisler cast from all around the world— in Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States—getting strong supporting actors such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Danny Huston, Clea DuVall, Eddie Marsan, and Melissa Leo. Iñárritu adores authenticity, which for his cast means research, rehearsal, and, in the case of extras, real people, wherever the setting.
"Francine Maisler was a fantastic partner in this film," Iñárritu said. "I say 'partner' because she was set to work with me even when I didn't have a script, a studio, nothing. I just told her what the story was about and who the characters were supposed to be, and she accepted and without cost. She really just loved Amores Perros, and she wanted to work this project. Fearless."
—Cassie Carpenter
American Splendor
It should come as no surprise that when writer/directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini were looking to bring Harvey Pekar's autobiographical comic book series, American Splendor, to life, they sought out the casting services of Ann Goulder. After all, Goulder has been the CD responsible for casting some of the quirkiest ensembles of recent years. A favorite of Todd Solondz—for whom she has cast since Welcome to the Dollhouse—Goulder can take on the serious (The Laramie Project) as well as the absurd (Road Trip). She has been associated with some of the most promising directors, from Darren Aronofsky (for whom she cast Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream) to Terry Zwigoff (for whom she's casting the upcoming Art School Confidential).
American Splendor is full of great finds, from James Urbaniak's spot-on Robert Crumb to Judah Friedlander's self-proclaimed "proud nerd," Toby Radloff. And Madylin Sweeten, familiar to TV viewers as the daughter on Everybody Loves Raymond, is equally adorable as the Pekars' adopted daughter, Danielle. But the film would be nowhere without its stars, Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis, who portray the often miserable husband-and-wife team of Pekar and Joyce Brabner. Both actors have been valued supporting players in films big and small but have never had a chance to shine the way they do here. Crabby and volatile, Giamatti spares no punches in his portrayal of Pekar yet still manages to endear him to the audience with his blunt nature. He's matched by the always reliable Davis, whose dour expression is matched only by her deadpan line readings. The casting is particularly daunting, as many of the real-life people appear as themselves, opening up comparisons to the film characters. It's a testament to Goulder that the audience hardly notices. But perhaps the highest compliment came from Pekar and Brabner themselves, who were remarkably taken by their on-screen doppelgängers. Said Pekar, "I didn't know there were people like Paul Giamatti."
—Jenelle Riley
Finding Nemo
Albert Brooks paired with Ellen DeGeneres as adventurers? Willem Dafoe and Brad Garrett as buddies? Something seems fishy. But it's the charming casting by Matthew Jon Beck (Brother Bear, Lilo & Stitch, Monsters, Inc.), Mary Hidalgo (Lilo & Stitch, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life), and Kevin Reher (producer, A Bug's Life) that makes the undersea adventure Finding Nemo's pixilated posse of pisces so personable.
In casting young Nemo, the CDs brought on 9-year-old Alexander Gould, a film vet since age 2, who lent his boyishly innocent but sturdy voice to the young hero. Although William H. Macy was rumored to be the first choice to voice Nemo's neurotically protective father, Marlin, only Brooks could use his soft-spoken petulance to give Marlin his own sweetly heroic arc. And the originality of casting DeGeneres as a sometimes annoying sidekick? Well, in truth she turns Dory's forgetful chattiness into a state of bliss until we can't help but laugh at the running—er, swimming—gags.
The CDs tapped into the wealth of great Aussie actors to cast supporting roles. How unexpected to find Barry Humphries ("Dame Edna Everage") as Bruce, a shark on 12-step program to stop eating fish; Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down) and Bruce Spence (Dark City) as his self-help buddies; and Geoffrey Rush as Nigel, the sagacious pelican.
The CDs likewise packed a fish tank with some of America's finest big- and small-screen talent. Dafoe leads the troops as a strong but silent battle-scarred Moor fish, while the comedic captives include Garrett, Austin Pendleton, and Allison Janney as the tank's capable lookout starfish.
The CDs also kept their minds open to talent from unexpected sources. Jacques, the fastidious French-accented cleaner shrimp, is Joe Ranft, a story supervisor on Monsters, Inc.; he did the scratch voice and was wisely left in. Mr. Ray, the cheerily nerdy science teacher, is voiced by co-writer Bob Peterson. Crush, the surfer-dude sea turtle, is co-writer/co-director Andrew Stanton. And Squirt, Crush's son, is Nicholas Bird, the 8-year-old son of Pixar director Brad Bird.
Thank goodness the CDs caught this terrific haul. Without their choices, this film would have been just a bunch of colorful pixels.
—Dany Margolies
In America
The strength of In America is that it is exquisitely cast, by Joyce Gallie, Avy Kaufman, Frank Moiselle, Nuala Moiselle, and Sally Osoba. The loosely autobiographical film by Jim Sheridan tells the story of a struggling Irish actor, Johnny (Paddy Considine), and his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), who move to New York with their two daughters (Sarah Bolger and Emma Bolger). Complicating their period of adjustment is the spiritual presence of a recently lost child.
Sheridan had reportedly been seeking an Irish actor to play Johnny but chose English-born Considine after seeing him play an obsessive loner in the indie film A Room for Romeo Brass. He was drawn to Morton after seeing her mute performance in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown.
Central to the film's charm are the two young actors and real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger. Sarah shapes her character, the 11-year-old Christy, into a pensive but hopeful observer of the family goings-on who captures everything on her video camera. As Christy's younger sister, Ariel, Emma Bolger brings a startling freshness and lack of self-consciousness.
Extensive auditions were held to cast these roles, but Sheridan has explained that what drew him to Emma was her boldness. "While Emma was auditioning, I decided I wanted to hear another actress try the same lines, so I handed the script to her," said Sheridan. "Suddenly I feel this tug on my coat from behind, and this face looking up at me with great pity because I've obviously crossed a line of etiquette, and Emma says to me, 'Does she get to read my part?' I knew right then that she was right for Ariel. She had that same wise quality of a girl who wasn't going to back down. Then she told me her sister Sarah was in the car. At first I thought Sarah was too young to play Christy, or that I might have to rewrite some of the lines, but I was wrong. Sarah was fully capable."
As their painter-neighbor, Djimon Hounsou couples an intimidating exterior with an inner warmth that perhaps only someone facing his own mortality can exude. Sheridan has said this was the most difficult role to cast. The director was reportedly impressed by a powerful audition that "put a completely different spin" on the character, as well as by Hounsou's own immigrant story as a West African who came to Paris before coming to Hollywood.
Yet the final test of this cast is how well they work together as an ensemble—a test they pass with flying colors. Indeed one of the finer pleasures in watching this film is seeing how subtly these actors react to one another with the collective goal of telling a rich, touching story.
—Laura Weinert
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Although director Peter Weir had the foresight to tap Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany as his leading men for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World—and both are perfect fits for their respective characters, the enigmatic Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and the intellectual Dr. Stephen Maturin—Weir relied heavily on the expertise of his casting directors when it came to crewing up the remaining sailors of the HMS Surprise, the British warship on which this story takes place. CD Mary Selway (Love Actually, Gosford Park, Notting Hill) was instrumental in bringing aboard the colorful supporting players of the picture, including Billy Boyd, who was most recently seen as Pippin in The Lord of the Rings trilogy; George Innes, as the crusty old seaman Joe Plaice; and Lee Ingleby as the indecisive midshipman Hollom. Of particular note were Selway's recommendations for the young performers in this film, including the 13-year-old newcomer Max Pirkis, who gives a valiant portrayal of the wounded but not beaten Lord Blakeney.
In addition to Selway's contributions, extras casting director Judy Bouley had the daunting task of looking at more than 7,000 hopefuls to fill the roughly 130 roles of the Surprise's remaining crew. "As a guide, we had reproductions of paintings and sketches of the period and, more importantly, a rare set of photographs taken in the mid-1840s of English fisherman," says Weir of his vision for the look of these seamen. Bouley and the filmmakers went "to the ends of the earth to find these people," according to producer Duncan Henderson, and they hired background performers from countries as far apart as Poland, Senegal, Australia, and Sudan. In some cases, men were chosen based on their real-life sailing skills, as Weir painstakingly attempted to recreate the world of Patrick O'Brian's novels, upon which the film is based.
Weir's aim for authenticity paid off. The result is a true ensemble of performers that draws us into the absorbing world of its inhabitants. Thanks to these actors and to the casting directors who helped hire them, we feel the perilous sway of the ocean's pull, taste the salty air, and smell the smoke of cannon fire.
—Jamie Painter Young
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
When Ronna Kress' friends learned that she was to begin casting on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, they gave her grief for "selling out." "I mean, it's based on a ride," she says. "It just seemed ridiculously commercial to them." The film surprised everyone. It now boasts five Oscar nominations, including a best actor nom for Johnny Depp, who also won this year's SAG Actor Award. Far from the generic, Disneyfied, humdrum summer flick that many expected, Pirates is funny, unique, clever, and exceptionally entertaining. And as almost every critic has noted, the film's charisma comes from the strength of the performances. "In a weird way Johnny Depp was so perfect," Kress says of the unlikely casting choice. "We went through the list of potential guys, and we came to the conclusion that he was it. There was no way anyone else could do the kind of job he could do with that part. It's funny because sometimes in casting that's what happens—you just get on an idea, and it may be flukey, but it is the perfect idea."
Although Depp has gotten much of the accolades, it's the smaller parts that prove vital to the success of any film. Says Kress, "The smaller roles aren't necessarily harder to cast, but I do think they are the most important. Very often that's where the thread and texture of the film lives. One of the things that I love so much about Pirates is that all of those faces really came to life. If those parts don't ring true, then often the rest of the movie falls apart."
Rounding out the cast is ingénue Keira Knightley, a then-unknown actor whom Kress cast almost immediately after seeing her tape. Geoffrey Rush plays the sublimely evil Barbossa. Orlando Bloom had just begun his rise to success and seemed impossible to get for the film. "Once we had Keira cast, I went after Orlando pretty hard," Kress says. "We had this great dinner at the Ivy in London in which I kept taking snapshots of the two of them together. I was trying to entice Orlando in with her—and I guess I succeeded."
For Kress, the fulfillment of casting a film that so many people have enjoyed has been the ultimate thrill: "In my business I receive so much mail, and I have gotten more letters from all over the world of people writing in and begging to audition for Pirates 2. It's overwhelming. I found it to be a very unique and fulfilling experience. The success of it is really the icing on the cake."
Pamela Bock