In this interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Alison Murchie, a distinguished casting director with over 12 years of experience. As an associate at Nancy Bishop Casting, Alison has worked on a diverse range of projects for major platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. Her impressive portfolio includes independent films, blockbusters, and award-winning projects like “Borat,” for which she received a CSA award.
Gain insights into Alison’s casting process, learn about her approach to discovering new talent, and explore the challenges and triumphs she has faced in her career. This article offers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of casting and the unique qualities that make Alison a standout figure in the industry.
Could you share early influences and how growing up in London impacted the career you know have?
The other week, my daughter was reading one of my A-level texts, and at the back, I’d written a cast list of who would be in it; there was a mixture of famous people. I always had Colin Firth in the lead, obviously, and then my friends who could play certain roles.
I grew up in the eighties, in London, which was a difficult time in many ways, but in terms of theatre, it was absolutely incredible. I was fortunate to be able to queue up for day tickets at the National or the RSC and see so many different types of plays.
I always fancied myself as having an eye for who could play which role, and growing up in London certainly gave me this huge pool of actors to think about and choose from. I was very obsessed with actors and theatre from an early age. You know, I’d like to obsess over programmes of things that I’d been to see and wanted to know what the actors had done and what they’d been in.
Going to see plays in the Barbican and at the National greatly impacted me growing up. I love watching TV and going to the cinema, so that helps in a job like this; seeing who’s out there and who’s doing what is incredibly important.
Half of me always wanted to work in the arts, but I ended up doing something completely different. I worked at the Imperial War Museum for five years as a historical researcher. Then I worked on travel guides, and then moved abroad for a bit and went on maternity leave three times and wasn’t sure what to do after that and just happened to meet someone who was a casting director, realised, wow, what an excellent job, that sounds fantastic, I’d really like to do that.
I think if I’d known that such a job existed, I would have tried to do it much earlier.
I then worked with Urvashi Chand at Chand Casting, who’s amazing, and did some freelance work for her. Then I met up with Nancy Bishop just as she needed a new casting assistant, and we’ve been working together ever since, for about eight or nine years now.
What have been some of your absolute projects that you’ve worked on so far?
Certainly, one of the most successful and the most fun was working on the second Borat film, Borat’s subsequent movie film, because we were looking for a very specific role. We had the time to look at so many different people, and they were perhaps changing their ideas about what they wanted. So we’d then go look at a new group of people. But it was amazing, you know, to have the freedom, to not to have to cast a name.
They wanted someone who wasn’t known so that they could go under the radar. Maria, who was chosen in the end, did an amazing job and got recognition for what she did. It was very fulfilling to see that. We went through so many different people looking at different tapes; there were some really, really good people.
But when you find one, and you think, I really like her, and then you pass it the next down the line, and they think, OK. They really like her, and then the next person really likes her, and then she is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. It’s great to see that happen because there are so many projects and films; you know, it’s really nice when something like that does happen.
Do casting directors juggle a mountain of self-tapes for every role they cast? What’s a typical day in the casting world like?
It really depends. It depends on timing because sometimes you’re not given much time, certainly in commercial casting. It’s very quick, and the turnarounds are very quick, so you’re looking at a few days and trying to see as many people as possible in that space of time.
But you can sometimes see hundreds of tapes for one role in a film where they need to cast a lead actor before they can go ahead. A director or a production team will probably see, I’d say, between five and twenty on a shortlist.
But sometimes, they’ll want to see more; they’ll want to see different types. So we’ll go through more people and see more tapes. Looking at tapes is very time-consuming; obviously, it’s our job, and we want to find the right person. So we want to make sure to see everyone who might be that person who gets chosen.
I don’t know if there is such a thing as an average day. You know, because it’s also like acting, that work comes and goes, obviously, with the actors strikes, and with COVID, there are periods where there isn’t much going on. Like actors, sometimes you have to have a second string to your bow that you can turn to when things are quiet.
But things have been great recently, and it’s been a fairly good stream of work. You’re reading scripts that are coming in. Is this something that we want to either apply for? Or is it something that’s being offered to us? If that’s the case, is it a script that we can work on?
So we read a lot of scripts, look and read through a lot of breakdowns; we put out a lot of breakdowns for projects and a lot of it is liaising with agents and productions, doing deal memos or cans, negotiating who gets what when, and things like that.
You need a good memory, remembering names and faces, who’s done what, and who’s doing what when. You obviously need to have generally good relationships with agents, so you must be personable and get on with people. There’s a lot of admin as well, so you need those sorts of skills and just be creative, really.
What are some of the most significant challenges faced by casting directors?
I think, for me, in some ways, the challenging thing is that there are so many good actors, and it’s really hard sometimes to see people who are so talented and so good not get picked for the role, but the people who are picked are also really great too. I think it’s quite upsetting sometimes.
You think, you know, that person did really well, and sometimes we’ve asked them to tape five times, but they still haven’t gotten it. That’s really hard. You know, sometimes, things don’t go the way you think they should.
But, in the end, as long as the production, the director, and everyone’s happy, then that’s fine. But, generally, it’s just having to tell people they haven’t got the job, which is really hard.
Could you impart some wisdom gleaned from your journey so far?
If you want to work in this area, there are so many different types of jobs that you could do, so be open to trying different things. Like I said, I was lucky to fall into casting, but that might not be for someone else.
There are so many different types of work that you can do. But if casting is something that you’re interested in, then, you know, you can read up about it. There are some really good workshops that you can do. There are some interesting interviews with casting directors on Spotlight. Listen to podcasts. You can research it fully before going for it.
But if it’s something that you’re interested in, it can be incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable and just rewarding to see, to be in a project from the start to the end, and see what it’s like when it finishes.
And, I think all that experience is necessary because when you’re casting, you’re looking at so many different people and types of projects.
So, from working at an Imperial War Museum, I’m quite critical when I read Second World War scripts because I know a lot of the historical details that they may have got wrong.
There are so many things I don’t know about that I’m reading scripts about, but, you know, a knowledge of history, a knowledge of events, a knowledge of different types of characters, certainly from working in travel guides and knowledge of different countries, it all helps.
So I think anything that you pick up along the way is going to be useful at some point in casting because, like I said, the projects are so varied. We’ve done 18th-century Victorian dramas to futuristic Swiss art house films; you’re not going to know about everything, but having a wide knowledge of things certainly helps you.
So, how does one snag some behind-the-scenes action as a casting director to see if it’s their cup of tea?
We’ve had people interning for us who then went on to work permanently with us or do other freelance work for other casting directors.
So if they look at casting directors on Instagram and or various other platforms, and see what’s available, see what projects they’re working on, because, sometimes, it’s to do with a specific project or skill or a language or something like that that you can use to your advantage.
So if someone’s casting something that’s being shot, let’s say, in France, and you speak French, they might need an assistant or someone who can help them with that.
We had people working for us when we were doing a project called Greek Salad on Amazon Prime. There’s a bilingual character who needs to speak perfect French and perfect English, and we hired someone who was French and could listen to the French tapes because I thought, well, it sounds good to me, but I’ve just got GCSE French. So if you’re aware of projects that are going on that you think you could help with, that’s great.
People also offer work experience and internships. So, it’s definitely worth applying for those.
Take in as much as you can so you’re aware of different styles, different actors, and who’s out there doing what. It’s an exciting pathway, and it’s not easy because it fluctuates like a lot of things in the arts. But if it’s something you feel you have an interest in or an eye for, then go for it; there’s also the Casting Directors Guild website for more insights.
Biography:
Alison Murchie has been working in casting for over 12 years, having previously worked as a singer, actor, researcher at the Imperial War Museum, and a travel writer and editor for the Guardian and Rough Guides.
She has lived and worked in France, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, India, and Spain. Alison started out with Chand Casting and worked on Scottish Mussel with Tallulah Riley and Martin Compston, as well as other independent films and adverts for Vodafone, Lego, and Cadbury.
Since 2016, she has been an associate at Nancy Bishop Casting. Working almost exclusively in film and TV, they have cast series for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney +, as well as many independent films and blockbusters such as Prizefighter, Miranda’s Victim, and recently Under the Stars with Andy Garcia, Alex Pettyfer, and Toni Colette. Nancy Bishop Casting won a CSA award for their work on Borat Subsequent Movie.
Discover more about Alison Murchie using the link below:
Website: http://www.nancybishopcasting.com/
