Casting Director pet peeves

My number one pet peeve is when someone refers to Casting Directors as "casting agents". What does this even mean? An agent is someone who represents actors and takes a percentage of their salary in return for soliciting jobs for actors and negotiating their deals. In some larger agencies, there are "casting agents" and this means that those agents are primarily charged with working on getting their acting clients cast in television and film.

A Casting Director, on the other hand, is hired by a studio or production company to present a variety of actors, through the audition process, to the directors and producers and to advise and inform the entire casting process. Casting Directors are responsible for the hiring of the entire ensemble, acting as a liaison between the actors and the producers and directors, and working with the actors agents to find just the right actors to fill specific roles. We sift through the thousands of submissions, audition the actors, narrow down the choices and then help with the negotiations of the deals.

For some reason, print media and many people continue to refer to Casting Directors as casting agents. This drives us crazy. So the next time you hear someone say "casting agent", do all of us CDs a favor and correct them. We'll be very appreciative.

Happy summer solstice!