Gohar Gazazyan, Casting Director. For Austin Winsbergs musical extravaganza, Ulrich was asked to put together a cast that could sing, dance and pretend none of it is really happening. Casting directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas, who have worked on "Better Call Saul" and "The Walking Dead," say: "You tell where casting directors are making the effort. We really kind of leave it up to the actor. sherrythomaslane Follow 284 posts 5,086 followers 587 following Sherry Thomas Lane Casting Director / Owner @ Bialy Thomas & Associates Blue collar Northampton, MA native who is Livin' the dream. Once we started to figure out that it was Jordan [Kristine Seamn], Ben was a perfect match. This weekend, we'll hear from three more guilds: the ACE (Eddie Awards), the ASC, and the WGA. Were lucky., I was a giant fan of Janes for many, many years, from Suburgatory, Robert J. Ulrich says of the lead actress whose Zoey can see and hear what others are feeling via fantasy musical numbers. Sharon Bialy: Right. So, there you have it. We needed him to feel younger than the other boys, other than Jack. Its great to virtually meet you, Sherry, and lets kick things off right at the beginning of your career. It might help for other projects more so than this, just to get a sense of it when youre in the room with us. Seriously. Sherry Thomas - IMDb Photo Credit: Deanna Baldwin Boyd, courtesy of Sherry Thomas. Primetime Emmy Awards. The age had to be appropriate so there would be chemistry with Linda. Listen, come to my office and Ill do your hair youll be fine. When Breaking Bad started, we really rebelled and kept looking for stand-up actors. Jonathan [Masons employer], was the first one. Its definitely a world that were extremely interested in.. Ask a Casting Director: Sherry Thomas and Gohar Gazazyan of - Observer We all miss it. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. And I think were all waiting for the moment in time where we can be together again, for sure. Bialy/Thomas & Associates - Casting Director | Backstage Even Nate said, I cant believe Im in this part. He tapped into the soul of [kidnapped sons father] Matthew Dodson., He was in that initial conversation with Tim it was just determining which role, says Thomas of Patrick. You dont have to drive an hour and a half to two hours for an audition when youre getting the pages two or three days before. The second it became Alex, I ran with it, pushed it, said its a way to really enlighten the world. Closing out the conversation we were joined by their casting partner Sharon Bialy to discuss their second nomination of the year for their work on The Handmaids Tale. But he also, as himself, has a real confidence and a unique and very modern feel, which I think really lends itself to Fraser. Oscars 2023: Preview and Predictions + Contest! And especially for kids, dont try that hard in the slate to be liked and all of that, its just, Hey, Im Lance Carter, Im five foot 10. And Sherry was like, Shes so smart. I had the highest hopes and no idea that he could sing as well as he could sing. Were in a very different time and our priorities are a little different, but it doesnt take away from the pride of it and the love and passion we have for it. Heres what to know, From Chris Rock to the SAG Awards. It feels like thats not as much of a requirement anymore, though, and I want to help fully facilitate that change for the next generation of women. And also, it was shot in LA, in Los Angeles, so everything is large and on a big scale. Its a natural human thing to think of somebody in one way. I can tell you that after 22 years of covering the Oscars that they are mostly meaningless. Top Gun: Maverick, Banshees of Inisherin, All Quiet on the Western Front Win at MPSE. Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. RS: We went through that entire process and read a lot of people. She cites the scenes with Mark Proksch as energy vampire Colin Robinson in his workplace. We had lots of auditions. I was doing a virtual Pilates class when I got a text from Christina that said, Congrats lady! Skylar is obviously a name, but hes also just a real standout, an extraordinary singer and actor., Michael Thomas Grant, who plays [rival coworker] Leif, I knew from The Glee Project, says the casting director. We were trying to find the perfect person that would excite Liz to the point where she would want to continue writing for if the character came back. Sometimes Clement will become inspired by the actors. He was a huge part of why we got her it was a lot of working out schedules; we dont just get to read in a room with actors all the time. Did Scott have to break some legs to get it done? And if an actor does the wrong choice and they come in the room, you can easily give them direction and play with it and get them more relaxed and support them. The Envelope spoke with some of TVs top casting directors about their part in helping stories get told and actors get Emmy nominated. And I think you can do that because you have more time, youre at home. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for. Lets try it. Everybody knows he is a wonderful actor. It sounds like you didnt look back after the job found you. We can be a force of nature in our career and still want to spend more than an hour and a half with our newborn baby. At some point Sherry suggested Katey Sagal. Our job is to connect with people to bring out the best performance. Casting Director Casting Department Producer IMDbPro Starmeter See rank Sharon Bialy is known for Rudy (1993), The Handmaid's Tale (2017) and Barry (2018). We are very passionate about not pigeonholing actors. And then when I did it, you kind of jumped up in your chair. We can explain things like tone. Luckily he did. But now that the show has cooked its last batch of blue meth and said goodbye to the Albuquerque sunset, Bialy and Thomas finally heard their names called on nominations morning, along with Kiira Arai, in the Best Drama Casting category. ST: Not for us particularly. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. BIALY / THOMAS CASTING - The Casting Society of America And our associate, Alyssa Morris, did the same with the smaller roles. Im not saying he is like Fraser, because that was never our feeling. Sign up to get must-read entertainment headlines and audition advice delivered to your inbox every weekday. This interview has been edited and condensed. You do a drama and they say you can only do drama. ST: Russell worked very, very hard on that. 'Breaking Bad' casting directors Sharon Bialy & Sherry Thomas 'very It is one of our most rewarding jobs., [John McEnroe] was in the original script, and I remember nobody was dealing with it. Luca is a director whos interested in the rawness and the grounding of truth., Because of City of God, [Alice] is somebody Ive always looked at and always been really curious about, says Cuba of the actress, who plays one of protagonist Frasers mothers, both in the military. If its somebody that we have known for a long time and we just say, not sure if its right, but just want to see if there is something there that connects the spirit of the actor to the spirit of the character, but its not right, then we can sort of move on and with respect because we know its not the perfect fit. This story first appeared in a January stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Do you think you guys will rely on that still? Casting Yvonne Strahovskis mother, we needed someone who could be formidable. Sherry Thomas @SherryThomas_ST , Twitter Profile - instalker.org Sherry Thomas: Good reader whos not too close to the camera and not trying to audition for themselves. We checked in on her, and the challenging part was convincing producers to take a chance on an actor that youre very familiar with but they might not be. It was fun to be able to draw on somebody that I had thought was so talented for so long.. We wanted the fans to believe this, too, like, Oh my God, hes so cute. Its great for the world to see his story; something that youre certainly seeing more and more television, which is wonderful, but that you dont see every day., When putting together an ensemble in which one star cannot shine brighter than the others, theres a key to getting it right: You need strong people all around, people who can match each other talentwise, says casting director Billy Hopkins. Call Sheet Directory and Mailing Labels | Backstage The vampire mockumentary series was a surprise Emmys 2020 comedy series nominee, but dont look for hidden meaning behind the fun, say its writers. Sharon Bialy: Also, because sometimes youre only getting a couple of pages, so you have to guess and when youre in the room, we can give you context. But not even Thomas and Lewis knew who the character, a nice guy married to Regina Kings vigilante character, would later be revealed to be. Every time we had a conversation or auditioned actresses that werent a perfect fit, Russell would get on the phone and see if her availability changed. Oscars 2023 Voting Begins Dear Oscar, Hear My Plea, Why Steven Spielberg Deserves to Win His Third Best Directing Oscar. Shes fantastic. Instagram Icon Did it make your job easier or was it challenging having actors come in with a preconceived notion of what the show should be? The driving force was that this world felt real, [that] we could see these people living here, Ingram says. Once I opened that door, though, there was no going back. Its all so seamless, though, that you cant see any of those divisions in his performance. We discussed a bunch of people [for the role of Caitlins father, an Army lieutenant] and then it just felt natural for Scott and Luca to meet. We were really happy with the outcome of that! Wow. Sherry Lansing - Biography - IMDb He felt just perfect for Bruce. (photo: Mark Seliger/FOX) Welcome to tvDownload's " Ask a Casting Director ," a new series in which we talk to the men and women . Casting a Casting Director: How Allison Jones Ended Up in Front of the Interview: Casting Directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas on 'The Sherry Thomas: And the show director, Jesse Peretz, just really kind of took everybody and, everybody shines. But going into the second season, the world knows the show, and we dont have to explain what it is. If its somebody who were like, Ive never seen them audition for us before. You are known for bringing in people who are looked at one way, and then you sort of have given this whole new sort of light, this new career almost to them. I brought in this guy from New York, hes actually a playwright, his name is Jeremy O. Harris. She gets it. RS: It was a very extensive search. I really hope the industry is changing to be better in that area, especially for women who want to work and also be moms. The actors dont care that they come in 10 times and didnt get the part, because they know that one time with us they will., Once you have Matthew Rhys, you want to make sure whoever is opposite isnt wiped off the screen, says Bialy of their lead. For 'The. Sharon Bialy is on Instagram 782 posts on their profile And now jumping to present day, congrats are in order regarding the recent Emmy nomination you received with Sharon Bialy for your teams work casting Barry. Its also an emotional drama. When people used to ask us, I used to say, Oh, our reward is working with Vince Gilligan every day, which we continue to do and thats still true, Bialy told Gold Derby during our recent webchat (watch below). ST: I think thats one of the reasons we love to be in the room with actors and why right now it is really hard with the world of COVID. And were really fing funny! There were large party scenes, and large office scenes, and so you had to be very, very careful. He was tied to a play in New York., Jemaine does that so much, says Kay. I forgot to mention Casey Wilson. Yahya took a leap of faith. DEAD TO ME - Sherry Thomas, Russell Scott, Sharon Bialy, Alyssa Morris (Associate) Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company. Get our L.A. They tell the story of when they had to call Margolis in New York and ask him to put himself on tape, despite the fact that his character had no lines. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City.The Cherry Lane Theatre contains a 179-seat main stage and a 60-seat studio. As for the ladies favorite guest stars over the years, they bring special attention to Charles Baker (Skinny Pete), Matt Jones (Badger) and Daniel and Luis Moncada (the Cousins), but they admit that Emmy nominee Mark Margolis may be their favorite casting scoop for the show. Co-Owner Bialy Thomas & Assoc. Type above and press Enter to search. Sharon Bialy: I think theres going to be a hybrid. ST: The challenge too isnt necessarily one particular role. Sherry Thomas: If a reader is really distracting, its not about the reader, its about the actor. Literally, we were all just howling because she just got it., We needed a Jake from Sixteen Candles, someone brooding and obviously swoon-worthy and somebody that Devis going to have a mad crush on, Greenstein says of the protagonists love interest, Paxton Hall-Yoshida. Through conversation and through hearing about what the role is about in detail and where it will go, the list gets smaller and smaller. I appreciate that insight into collaborating with such a talented multi-hyphenate. Required fields are marked *. We actually hit the limit of how many emails Gmail can accept in a day. After Kaling posted the open call on her social media and more than 13,000 submissions poured in, the duo discovered Toronto-based, then-17-year-old Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. John Lithgow, for E.B. Its not recent, but it is really funny. Contact To get in touch with Sherry, use the contact form below or send her an email at sherry @ sherrythomas.com (w/o spaces). He is fantastic. [Laughs] I love them, as well as my husband, and we all have fun together. When you work in television and when you work with really great material, you do get excited for this time of year. We thought wed cast an unknown. Despite the mega success of "Breaking Bad" at the Emmys -- including three acting wins for Bryan Cranston, a pair for Aaron Paul and one for Anna Gunn -- casting directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry . Its when I really first started, when I was having a lot of autonomy with Sharon. And when they feel that support, they just blossom right in front of the camera. Creator Katori Hall made a short film of her intended pilot that featured several castmembers, but the search still encompassed thousands of auditions and extensive chemistry reads.