When I glanced at Anne McCarthy‘s IMDb entry, I prepared myself to meet a casting director of Old Hollywood. With over 50 credits (from mainstream films such as Can’t Hardly Wait, Spy Kids, Cruel Intentions, Three Kings, Scary Movie, Training Day, and Scooby-Doo to Sundance darlings The Slaughter Rule, Pumpkin, and Requiem for a Dream), McCarthy, on paper, has been around a long time. When we met, however, I was genuinely surprised.
McCarthy, who couldn’t possibly be 30 yet, popped into the room with her hair piled on top of her head, said, “I think I want to be called ‘Annie’,” and curled her flip flop-clad feet up into her lap, trying to get comfortable for an experience she rarely endures: an interview. When I took a longer look at her list of credits, I realized that all of her IMDB-listed work had taken place over the course of four years. At that moment I thought, “I just may be sitting across from a member of the next generation of casting director.” You be the judge.
First Casting Job
Intern for Mali Finn. “It was a happy accident, actually. I didn’t have aspirations to be in the business. I’d just been going to school and didn’t even know there was a business, really. A friend who is an actor knew the head of casting at HBO. We all went out to dinner after a taping one night and I was like, ‘What’s casting?'” McCarthy joked. “She told me all about it and said she knew someone who needed an intern and I said, ‘No thank you.’ But a couple of weeks later, I didn’t have a job and I was bored, so I interviewed with Mali’s associate, Emily Schweber and then worked there for a year. While we were doing the search for the little girl for A Time to Kill, I moved up to assistant,” McCarthy recalled.
Road to This Position
After casting A Time to Kill, Finn took a break, leaving McCarthy open to work for Ronnie Yeskel and Mary Vernieu, who were partners in 1994. McCarthy then partnered up with Vernieu and Felicia Fasano for a few years prior to heading out on her own in 2002.
Director Jim Stern hired her to cast It’s the Rage, which earned McCarthy her first producing credit. “A lot of what we [as casting directors] do is producing anyway, especially when you’re working with new, independent filmmakers who may not know the business as well. You really do teach them as much as you can and you do actually earn those producer credits. So, it’s nice to get them.”
Coolest Casting Gig
Requiem for a Dream. “That was really challenging,” McCarthy said. “But, even though it was challenging, I thought it was the coolest. Darren [Aronofsky] was really creative and amazing. It was really educational, from that point of view. We worked on it for a year. Darren took his time. It was challenging because Darren was very particular about what he wanted,” she recalled. McCarthy qualified this as her pick for “coolest gig” by saying, “I understood when I watched the movie, much more than while we were casting it, the reason he was so particular during the casting process.”
What Casting Indie Films Is Like
“It’s great, seeing new, up-and-coming filmmakers come through the process. They need [casting directors] to give more. Casting is harder because we don’t always know where the money is coming from, but it is so wonderful to put together an ensemble cast for these projects. The process, with indie films, is more collaborative and really rewarding. There’s something about getting to help a first-time director see his vision come to life and knowing you’re a key element to that. There is no better feeling than that,” McCarthy revealed. “Also, to cast an actor—an unknown—and then to participate in that actor’s happiness is really awesome. There is nothing more rewarding in my job than those two elements.”
Key Things She Looks for in an Actor
“Definitely, the details of what I look for are role-specific, but generally, I’m looking for good energy, being open to trying all different things, not being scared of anything,” McCarthy listed. “Even if you think you’re not right for it, go for it,” she advised. “I find that just being natural and being true to yourself is important. Being nervous makes it tough, but I like the whole ‘picturing everyone in their underwear’ technique for that,” McCarthy hesitated, “except for me!” she insisted.
“We’re all people. Don’t be scared of failing. You can’t be on 24/7. Everyone’s going to have a bad day and a bad audition every now and then, so just come in and be yourself,” she continued. “I know actors who say they only feel as good as their last audition. That means, to me, you should always give your best, so that you feel your best all the time.”
Pet Peeves
Props. “It usually takes away from what you’re doing. They’re distracting to me and to the actor,” McCarthy said. “The actors don’t even realize that they are being distracted by the props they’ve brought in, but they put their energy into that thing instead of into their performance,” McCarthy explained. “Sometimes it works, if it’s natural, but most of the time it doesn’t, so just don’t do it. Pantomime instead.”
Another peeve, “Don’t throw me around,” McCarthy commented. “I don’t remember the movie, but there was one scene that required the actor to hit someone with a newspaper. It may be no big deal to you, but by the end of the day, I’ve been hit with a newspaper 40 times,” McCarthy clarified. “And after seven or eight years, you’ve been hit by a newspaper forever,” she joked. “Don’t do it.”
Advice for Actors
“Be yourself. Be real. Don’t sit in the waiting room and get intimidated, thinking, ‘I don’t look like that,’ ‘I don’t have that shirt on,’ ‘I didn’t think to wear those glasses,’ about every other actor in the room. Just don’t look around. Everyone’s got their own thing. Whatever you’re doing differently is what makes you special. Don’t be intimidated by anyone else around you. They’re all doing the same thing you’re doing and probably looking at you and going, ‘I don’t look like that.'”
Best Way to Get Seen by Her
Submissions. “I’m open to seeing pretty much anyone who is right for whatever I am working on, even if they’re not represented,” McCarthy said. As for postcards, McCarthy is not a huge fan. “I prefer headshots and resumes. There’s more information there.” McCarthy does attend theatre to scout for new talent. “I go as much as I can, or I get someone in the office to go. The hours that we keep are so crazy sometimes, but we do try to see as much as we can.” McCarthy also relies on the Academy Players Directory as a resource for finding actors.
Her Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
“We’ve started to use [Internet casting services],” McCarthy revealed. “Environmentally, it’s very cool,” she said. “More importantly, it saves people a lot of money on messenger services, postage, printing. Headshots are expensive. We can get the headshot online and print it out, if we need it. We’ll let you know if you should bring one in, but I’m always online, so it’s fine to get it that way, for me. I just feel horrible for the environment with all of the tapes and headshots we waste in this business,” McCarthy commented. “When I release Breakdowns for a role, submit your headshot because the director wants a hard copy. They like that physical picture in their hands. But if I’m doing generals, I can get everything I need online,” she insisted.
Trends She Has Observed in the Casting Process
This trend could be indicative of McCarthy’s involvement with more mainstream projects, after having worked on so many groundbreaking indie films, but her experiences have led to less freedom. “It’s frustrating that I don’t have the freedom to cast a great actor when an actor who means money will be attached is also up for the role. I wish we could give more unknown actors more opportunities. If I really believe in an unknown actor I’ve seen, I’ll work with them and give them hints, pointers, tips, whatever it takes,” McCarthy insisted. “When you believe in someone, it’s just what you do.”
Most Gratifying Part of Her Job
“Giving actors their shot. Giving that opportunity to an unknown actor, having that moment. Usually, I have to call the agent, but then the actor will call me and say, ‘Oh my God!’ There is nothing better than that phone call. It’s really awesome.”
This interview was conducted on March 13, 2002, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.