Casting Associate Responsibilities
The casting associate assists the casting director to find actors to fill roles in upcoming projects. In charge of casting calls and auditions, they create a list of talent suitable for consideration by the casting director and filmmaker. Casting associates communicate with clients and talent to schedule and finalize bookings.
The Casting Department
Casting Directors and Associates: Identifies new talent for consideration by filmmakers.
Casting Call: A meeting to meet with actors who have potential for a role.
Agents: Represent actors, will forward talent that meets a casting requirement to casting directors for consideration.
SAG/AFTRA: A union, or collective bargaining unit, that represents actors. Actors work in the business for sometime before qualifying to join the unions. Once they qualify and join, the union has rules that spell out pay rates and working conditions on set, and also support actors with benefits like insurance and retirement planning.
Casting professionals connect actors and directors, like film matchmakers, to find the right people to play a role.