Jill Trevellick’s uniquely U.K. sensibility in casting is one of the reasons her projects have an international reach. “Downton Abbey” and its huge ensemble cast became a global hit, and that’s because Trevellick is always focused on who the best person for the role might be. Her range can also be seen in her latest projects: the Jane Austen adaptation “Sanditon” and Julian Fellowes’ “Belgravia,” both of which traveled to the U.S. in 2020, and the second season of the Sky Atlantic drama “Save Me.” The contrast in subject matter and time period between the series thrills the seasoned CD; the opportunity to see a wide range of talent is what keeps the job new after more than 20 years in the business. In a conversation with Backstage, Trevellick calls casting “a way of life” and shares what to know when auditioning for her.
How to become an actor in the UK.
What makes you want to cast a project and how do you typically become attached?
What makes me want to work on something is always the script. Always. Sometimes it’s because I think it’s really fun, and it’s not something I’ve done before. Sometimes it’s just that I think it’s brilliantly written. It’s always the caliber of the writing and whether it’s something that I would enjoy watching. If the person sending [a project to] me is somebody that I’ve worked with before and I’ve really liked working with, that’s a huge hook, as well. I’ve been lucky in that I have worked with some lovely directors and producers several times. That’s always a major thing. Casting doesn’t get any easier, even if you do it for a long time. You have to really feel that the material is worth doing.
What preparation goes into your casting process?
It depends on [the people] I’m working with. There are producers and directors who are very knowledgeable about actors, and there are others who are less so. Sometimes, the conversations we have can get right down to the nitty-gritty straight away. Sometimes, it’s more just talking about the characters and their backgrounds. When I’m actually getting to the point that I’m making long lists of ideas for roles, I do sometimes go back and look at older lists if I had done a comprehensive search for a particular actor. I like starting from scratch.
What considerations do you have to make when building an ensemble?
I’m very often asked to put ensembles together. That can be a bit overwhelming when you write the breakdown of the characters. For instance, on “Belgravia,” I think when I first read the script, it was a cast of 75. You have to kind of work out a way to not panic about that. Usually, the way to do it is to structure the cast. You know the characters that scream out at you are the ones that are going to be the most important to start with. It’s like building a jigsaw. You start with a structure, and you work out. It’s really, really reading the script and thinking about very specific scenes that give you a really good indication of whether an actor will fit comfortably into a role or not. When you ask actors to audition, you have to pick useful scenes. You play the scenes in your imagination with particular actors in them and see if it works for you. On a practical level, those are the scenes you would ask actors to read.
What to know about auditioning in the UK.
Besides agent submissions, where do you like to look for talent?
I’m a great believer in going to see as much theater as possible. I also go to the drama schools. If I’m looking for something specific and it’s quite tricky, I do lots and lots and lots of general meets. I have done what is known as street casting these days, where I’ve just gone out and done outreach. When it’s casting children and teenagers, [I look at] schools, colleges, youth theaters, that kind of thing. You can have quite an extensive search. I was working on a film where we needed to find a brilliant 10-year-old girl. We went through the agent route, but we didn’t find the right person despite the fact that we’d seen hundreds. Then we started getting in touch with teachers that we’d worked with before and found a fantastic girl. I try to keep the door as wide open as possible, but there comes a point where you can only process so many suggestions.
When casting newcomers, how do you know they can hold their own in a role?Sometimes it just hits you between the eyes. Other times, it’s people who are distinctive. Casting and acting are complicated, but also very simple in that if you’re in an audition, you have to be convinced this person is the person they say they are. It’s just that plausibility, really. The best kind of casting is when you’re not aware of the casting. I’m always really pleased when directors say, “Don’t worry too much about the physical descriptions.” It’s really nice when you can just think about the essential qualities of a character, rather than physical features. There’s a sort of magic that some people have, that charisma that is really difficult to define, but you know it when you see it.
What are the differences between casting a period and a contemporary project?
Not a lot is different, really. All the same criteria apply and the process is the same. I suppose very often with period drama, you’re dealing with issues of class, and the class distinctions are quite distinct. There are some actors who are absolutely transformative, and there are other actors who tend to be better at playing upmarket or not-so-upmarket; that comes into it. Sometimes, the issue of diversity also comes into it. I always try to encourage diversity in casts. Not just in gender, but increasing the number of BAME [Black, Asian and minority ethnic] actors. That’s sometimes easier to do in contemporary pieces than in period pieces, where decision makers can be quite specific about historical accuracy.
Do you know when a project will be traveling to the United States? Does that affect how you cast?
From the moment I read the first “Downton” script, I thought it could be a hit in the U.K., but I didn’t ever think that it would be a hit elsewhere. “Sanditon” I knew would be shown in America, but there wasn’t any pressure at all to cast anybody who would mean something to an American audience as opposed to a U.K. audience. Wherever possible, it’s just so great to introduce actors to an audience. It’s so much easier to get audiences to suspend their disbelief if it is the first time they are seeing this human being.
As a casting director, what advice do you have for actors?
The reassurance I would give them is that I will only invite actors in because I think or hope they’re right for the role. The advice I would share is to give yourself the best possible chance by being as prepared as possible for the meeting. I always send out full scripts when possible. Do your research. If it’s a subsequent series or something that’s already been shown, watch something so you’ve got some context and you know the tone and the atmosphere of the piece that you’re going to be auditioning for. Learn your lines. Be prepared, but also be prepared to alter what you do, to take direction in the audition.
Ready to get to work? Check out Backstage’s London audition listings!