Casting Call

A casting call is the notice that a production is casting: the project's basics, the roles available, and how to submit. Calls run from open (anyone may submit — rare for speaking roles) to breakdown-based (released to agents and managers through industry platforms, the standard route for professional productions).

A professional call contains more structure than outsiders expect: project type, budget tier and union status (which fix pay rates), shoot dates and location, and a casting breakdown for each role — the character sketch submissions are matched against. Union status is the load-bearing detail: a SAG-AFTRA production's rates, hours, and conditions are set by agreement, and casting outside those terms isn't an option.

The funnel behind a call is steep: hundreds or thousands of submissions, a fraction invited to read sides, callbacks for the short list, then a chemistry read before offers. Casting directors run this filter as a profession — their taste is what a production is actually hiring.

Productions can post roles to our casting board, and performers can browse open calls there. For the production side of the process, see casting breakdown.