New talent

How does Catherine Willis find new actors?

In small theatres, at fringe festivals and open auditions, and sometimes on the street. Where someone comes from does not matter.

Around 40% of the actors in my casts are people I had never met before. I find them in small theatres and at fringe festivals, in school plays, on Instagram and TikTok, at open auditions, and sometimes on the street.

The search matters most when a script needs someone specific: a twelve-year-old who can carry a series, a voice from one particular town, a face the audience has no history with. That is the part of the job I like best.

auditions to find the young Alan Carr for Changing Ends: 700+
children seen for The Duchess, and then some: 300
days of open auditions in Bolton for the Alma's Not Normal pilot: 2
productions built around young casts: 12

Methods

How does a new face reach the screen?

Open auditionsTwo days in Bolton for the Alma's Not Normal pilot, reaching people through local press, schools, drama schools and community centres. The same approach in Liverpool for The Gathering, and across West Yorkshire for PUSH. Open casting for The Full Monty too.
Street castingFor the first series of Top Boy, which I co-cast, that meant playgrounds in Hackney and Homerton. Street casting is about finding something authentic.
Wide searchesOver 300 children seen for The Duchess, and the part went to a child with no previous credits. Over 700 auditions for Changing Ends.
A long memoryI meet someone who is not right for this part, and keep them in mind. Actors I first saw for one role have been cast years later in another.

What happened to the actors found this way?

Actor	Production	What happened
Oliver Savell	Changing Ends	Chosen from over 700 auditions. Won Comedy Performance (Male) at the RTS Programme Awards 2025, with BAFTA nominations in 2025 and 2026.
Lewis Gribben	Somewhere Boy	Won Actor (Television) at the BAFTA Scotland Awards 2023.
Eva Morgan	The Gathering	Cast in her first television role. Won the Golden Nymph for Best Actress at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in 2024.
Emma Myers	A Good Girl's Guide to Murder	Cast as Pip after a very wide search. The rest of the cast was built around her.
The Bolton ensemble	Alma's Not Normal	Cast from the pilot, including local open auditions. The series won the BAFTA for Scripted Comedy in 2025.

See every production with a young cast in the credit list, or read about open calls.

Questions about finding new talent

What is street casting?

Street casting means looking for people who are not professional actors, away from agencies and drama schools, in the places where the story is set. Casting directors use it when a part needs someone authentic to a place or a world. Catherine Willis co-cast the first series of Top Boy this way, in playgrounds in Hackney and Homerton.

What is an open casting call?

An open casting call is an audition that anyone who fits the brief can apply to, with or without an agent or experience. Casting directors use open calls to find people from a specific place or background. CW Casting held two days of open auditions in Bolton for the Alma's Not Normal pilot, open auditions in Liverpool for The Gathering, open casting for The Full Monty, and an open call across West Yorkshire for the BBC comedy PUSH.

What are the rules for casting child actors in the UK?

In England a child under school leaving age always needs a performance licence from their home local council to work on a film or television production. The production applies, and a council may refuse an application made less than 21 days before the work. The child must be supervised by a parent or a council-approved chaperone, and schooling continues at three hours per school day.

How do I get seen by a casting director?

Be in something, and say where and when. Catherine Willis finds new actors in small theatres, at fringe festivals and in short films, so an invitation to see your work is more useful than a general email. Keep your Spotlight profile current, apply to open calls, and send links, not attachments.

All questions and answers