Cathy Henderson‘s name is often mentioned by other casting directors as someone who was a mentor to them on their path to casting. Henderson, along with partner Dori Zuckerman, has been nominated for multiple Casting Society of America Artios Awards. As one of CSA’s first members, Henderson has seen the business of casting weather many transitions and trends. She rides each wave with the ease of the skilled surfer she is: with grace and strength.
First Casting Job
Nearly 30 years ago, Henderson was employed as casting secretary to Linda Otto at Spelling-Goldberg Productions, working on Charlie’s Angels. “Both of my parents were in show business, so it was second nature to me.” Henderson’s mother, Dorothy Dells, was an actress for 30 years. Father, Jack Voglin, worked in production on Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, and Rawhide. “I felt comfortable in that environment and I was a young mother in need of a job. I fell into this and it was perfect for me,” she recalled.
“I love talent of all sorts,” Henderson revealed. “I am in awe of people with talent. It excites me just to be around talented people, so it seemed natural for me to be the liaison between the talent and the producers and directors.”
Her Take on the Craft of Casting
“Casting directors work every hour we’re up and even sometimes in our sleep. This field has such rewards, but the hours are rough. Between seeing plays, attending showcases and workshops, screening films, and reading scripts, I barely have time to surf with my husband [Sandy Martin],” Henderson shared with a laugh.
“I feel so grateful to be in a career I love so much. My only disappointment after 28 years of casting is our lack of a union. We are execs,” Henderson insisted. “We have a lot to do with putting deals together. And with no union, we have no pension, no medical, no scale. My hope for younger casting directors is that CSA will get a union together to enable [casting directors] to get the same kind of benefits that other people in the industry have.”
“We can’t possibly get hired again unless the actors who come in do a good job. Our job is to find talented people, give them the information that we have, and make them feel comfortable so that they will do their very best performance. [Casting directors] have to audition for work too.”
“It’s a joy to work with folks who understand and respect the casting process,” Henderson confided. “Just like acting, casting is at its best when you are appreciated.”
Road to This Position
Henderson and Zuckerman have worked together for eight years. “We hooked up when we were both looking for new partners. We told one anther what films we were working on and discovered that we were individually hired to do the same film,” she laughed. “So, we decided to have a meeting to figure out what exactly was going on. Turns out – and it happens a lot in independent films – the guy was ‘hiring’ casting directors all over the place and basically taking their lists and not hiring anyone!”
“We have different opinions about things,” Henderson remarked. “That’s what makes our partnership so strong. We work well together as a team. We’ll have debates on which actor is best for a role and we’ll have to ‘agent’ each actor on our list to one another. It makes our list really diverse. We really cover all the bases.”
Coolest Casting Gig
“My first project was a favorite. Rock Follies. It was an English show about a girl rock-n-roll group back stage. I had worked with The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and lived in England for seven years. Martin Stargar knew I loved music, and he hired me to do the show. It’s where I met one of my best friends, Ellen Green (who played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors) as well as John Shae. After that experience, and working on Grease with Joel Thurm, I knew casting was for me.”
Most recently, 2001 Sundance favorite and Artios Award nominee What’s Cooking was a favorite for Henderson, mainly because it came to her with no names attached. “I have to give credit to [agent] Steve Doranville for helping get Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Julianna Margulise, and Alfre Woodard,” Henderson recalled. “In independent films, we really count on agents to help us put unfunded projects together. We all have to really believe in our projects,” she said.
Advice for Actors
“Be diligent. Be professional at all times. Get a good day job, maybe live with a group of people in order to shave costs. Meet in groups and network. Work at acting with such a passion that nothing gets in your way. Have camaraderie. Share information. Be positive,” Henderson advised. “Casting directors don’t want to help people who don’t help themselves.”
“A good picture is your first priority,” Henderson recommended. “Good pictures are extraordinarily important. And don’t let your lover or your mother pick the one they want on the mantle. Your headshot should say, ‘I’m a very good actor,’ to me, when I look at your eyes. Let us figure out what to do with your hair. Just look like you can act.”
“Take acting classes and do lots of theatre. Participate in theatre, not for who will see you there, but as a way to hone your craft. Casting directors check to see who you’ve studied with and look at your theatre credits. This tells us how hard you’re working to be a competitive working actor. We need to see who you’re currently studying with. We don’t care that you’re in the business because you were the class clown and someone told you you were cute,” she concluded.
Her Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
“Dori and I have used Internet services for last-minute casting needs,” Henderson revealed. “It’s difficult to cast just by a picture,” she said. “But I’ll use the Internet to find ethnic actors, actors with accents, older actors, or very young actors. If you’re a run-of-the-mill, good actor in a standard age range, I’m not going to look for you online.”
Pet Peeves
“When you’re in the audition, please don’t act unprofessional. Be prepared to take an adjustment during your read. Be on time. Have your material ready. Ask questions of your agent or come early to our office. Don’t ask your questions about the part in front of the producer and director,” she advised. “They will want to see your take on the material.”
“Props are distracting and annoying. Forget about props,” Henderson directed. “Don’t wardrobe yourself specifically unless you are asked to [dress for the part]. Leave your stethoscope at home! Just be comfortable and give the feeling of the role by your dress. Always be pleasant and make [the audition] about the work,” she concluded.
Best Way to Get Seen by Her
“Have a good agent whose opinion we respect,” Henderson asserted.
Other than that, an actor can send postcards. “Postcards are much better than 8x10s. They hang around longer because of their size. If you send a [demo] tape, please call a week later and pick it up,” Henderson requested.
Another good avenue: workshops. “Both Dori and I [attend] as many workshops as we can after a full day’s work,” Henderson said. “I’ve seen some terrific actors in well-run, well-organized workshops. I’ll bring them into the office based on the workshop experience. Dori and I have cast anywhere from 15 to 65% of non-star roles from workshops. Actors need to be ready before they do workshops for casting directors. It has a lot to do with the effort the actor puts into it,” she qualified.
“Casting directors who don’t work at studios or networks need a way to do general interviews more efficiently. From that, we already know what the actor is about, more than we would from a picture and resume in a mailing. That’s what the workshop is, for us. It’s an amazingly wonderful way for actors to see casting directors who are working in an environment where phones aren’t ringing off the hook.”
Regarding the controversy of workshops as paid auditions: “I always thought workshops were a good idea. Nobody twists the actor’s arm to do it,” she summarized. “It’s my job to do talent scouting. Workshops are just one of the ways I do that.”
Her Biggest Casting Challenge
“We’re big on changing the ethnicity, the gender, the age of a character, so that the project will look real,” Henderson explained. “That’s why independent films are so much fun. Often the writer is also the director, and we can break down the concept of ethnicity as we’re casting the project. It’s about the best actor for the part, so we’ll break that down from the beginning so that the director will watch the read, rather than looking for the person that fits the physical description they’re so attached to.”
Most Gratifying Part of Her Job
“Discovering new talent and watching their successes,” she said. “Billy Bob Thornton called me and said, ‘I stayed in town because you always brought me in, even when I wasn’t right.’ Hearing that,” she said, “is gratifying.”
This interview was conducted on October 17, 2001, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.