From Dreams to Screens: How House Casting Puts the Spotlight on Talent

Casting is important. That’s obvious. In fact, it’s so unquestionably obvious that the suitability of the talent in front of the camera is a make-or-break aspect of most productions that it doesn’t get talked about as much as it perhaps should. Compared to directors, creatives, editors, and sound designers, casting directors seldom find themselves as the central topic of articles in publications like this one. 

But, slowly and surely, that’s changing.

“We’re certainly never made to feel like we’re unimportant with the people we work with. Everyone buys into the fact that casting is essential to help a film come alive”, says Neil Myer, owner and partner at House Casting. “The overwhelming majority of our business comes through word of mouth - both agency and production-side”. 

Yet if quality casting directors are some of the industry’s best-kept secrets, they aren’t going to remain so for much longer. From 2026 onwards, the Oscars will present an award for Best Casting - the first time the Academy has introduced a new category in almost fifteen years. 

“I think having that category is a great thing, but the reason we do what we do is simply because we love it and we’re passionate about it”, says Mary Egan-Callahan, casting director at House Casting. 

That passion, according to both Neil and Mary, is the core secret behind House Casting’s 20 successful years in the business and counting. But, despite that depth of experience, the pair are keen to emphasise that no two jobs, and no two days, are ever the same. 

“There’s really no playbook or manual when it comes to casting”, explains Neil. “I suppose the one thing that you always need to do is be organised enough to make life easy for the people working with you - but if you ever find yourself going through the motions in our world, it means you’re not on top of your game and you’ll likely miss the specific requirements of whatever job you’re working on”. 

When it comes to a back catalogue of high-profile jobs, House Casting’s record is hard to match. From blockbuster music videos such as Taylor Swift’s Blank Space to big budget ads for brands like Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Apple, this is a casting agency which has been there and seen it all. 

Above: House Casting were involved in identifying the talent on screen for Taylor Swift’s iconic Blank Space music video which, at one time, was the most-watched on YouTube. 

Whilst Mary and Neil are no strangers to working with household names, their eyes light up most when reflecting on the jobs that really put their abilities to the test. 

“A job I’ll always remember is working with the NFL for the Super Bowl Babies ad from 2016”, recalls Mary. “We literally needed to go out and find people and kids who’d been born nine months after the Super Bowl. That was an epic task!” 

Above: Seal and the NFL enlisted House Casting to help track down babies born nine months after the Super Bowl in this memorable big game promotion. 

But, for House Casting, finding the solution to complicated problems is simply a part of the job. “I’m confident that, whatever the ask, we’re always going to be able to find who you’re looking for”, states Neil. “I’ve got total faith in that”. 

At the crux of the agency’s approach is their belief that casting is a fundamentally human process. It’s something that stems right back to the earliest days of the company, as Neil recalls. 

“One of the first callbacks we ever did was with the director Robert Altman. He made the point that, no matter what the final decision was in terms of casting, none of the people auditioning should take it as a rejection if it wasn’t them”, he says. “Because it's not always about who gets the best performance. It's about us fitting a certain piece into a certain puzzle. He was totally right”. 

That holistic perspective emphasises the essential balance at the heart of casting. One which, in Mary’s view, makes the process both an art and a science. “The execution, and figuring out the pieces of the puzzle, is scientific. But having that human sense for who to call in and how to communicate the job to them… that’s creative. It’s an art”, she says. 

As a result of all of this hard-earned experience, the truth is that there are very few people in the industry who can do what Neil and Mary do with such a level of expertise. In one sense, that can be a challenge for the business. “There’s no school of casting directors, and no specific qualification that gets your foot in the door”, notes Neil. “It’s simply a case of learning on the job and building up your instincts like muscles”. 

That’s something which has become especially pronounced since the industry adopted virtual and remote casting in the wake of the pandemic. “It’s harder to get a sense of someone’s talent when you’re working over Zoom”, says Mary. “Not impossible, of course! But it’s such a people-centric thing that it’s always going to be easier when you can see people standing in front of you”. 

Ultimately, that’s the beauty of casting. Like all of the best things in the industry, it isn’t about ‘content’ or product: It’s about talent and humans.