# How do casting directors find new actors?

> By looking outside the usual lists. Catherine Willis finds new actors in small theatres and at fringe festivals, in school plays, on Instagram and TikTok, at open auditions and through street casting. Around 40% of the actors in her casts are people she had never met before. Oliver Savell was chosen from over 700 auditions to play the young Alan Carr in Changing Ends.

## What are the main methods?

- **Open auditions.** Two days in Bolton for the Alma's Not Normal pilot, the same approach in Liverpool for The Gathering, and open casting for The Full Monty.
- **Street casting.** Playgrounds in Hackney and Homerton for the first series of Top Boy, which Catherine Willis co-cast.
- **Wide searches.** More than 300 children seen for The Duchess, and over 700 auditions for Changing Ends.
- **A long memory.** An actor who is not right for one part is kept in mind. People first seen 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 | 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 |

## Sources

- [Spotlight: Meet the Casting Director, Catherine Willis, 2024](https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/the-industry/casting-director-catherine-willis-good-girls-guide-to-murder-bbc/)
- [Act On This: A Guide To Landing More Auditions, with Catherine Willis, June 2026](https://www.actonthis.tv/blog/preview-a-guide-to-landing-more-auditions-with-top-tv-comedy-drama-casting-director-catherine-willis)
- [Channel 4: interview with writer Pete Jackson, 2022](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-writer-pete-jackson)
- [Spotlight: casting directors on casting young performers, 2020](https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/young-performers/casting-directors-talk-about-casting-young-performers/)
- [TVBIZZ Magazine: The Gathering wins three Golden Nymphs at the 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival, June 2024](https://www.tvbizzmagazine.com/uk-thriller-the-gathering-wins-three-golden-nymphs)

Last checked: 11 October 2026. Page: https://www.cwcasting.co.uk/questions/how-do-casting-directors-find-new-actors