Master classes from ‘Homeland’ casting director
Kimberly Graham, a renowned casting director and associate who casts Homeland and many other shows and films, is coming to Tel Aviv to teach master classes in acting at Stage Center in Tel Aviv on November 14-16.
As she talked to me in a phone interview about her career and her approach to teaching acting, during a break in her workshop in Barcelona, one thought kept coming back to me: This woman knows what happens in the upcoming season of Homeland,
the Emmy-winning series that is a reworking of the Israeli series, Prisoners of War.
But Graham just laughed when I asked for a hint.
“I’ve kept the secrets very well for eight seasons,” she said.
It’s not the first time someone has asked her what happens to troubled former CIA agent Carrie Mathison after that scary fadeout in Russia, and it won’t be the last. But while she will never spill the beans, she did open up about the unusual challenges of casting such a complex, international show.
Graham, who has been the associate casting director at Judy Henderson Casting since 2003, said, “Working on Homeland has given me a unique perspective. Most American shows take place in America, but Homeland
is set around the world.” In order to maintain the show’s authenticity, she has cast actors from Israel, Germany, Austria, Afghanistan and Russia, to name just a few countries, in addition
to the US and Canada. The show has been filmed around the world, until the last season, which took place mainly in the US, although most of the casting is done in New York. The one constant is that she never knows what’s coming next. “I’ve gotten a call to suddenly find an actor who speaks Pashto.”
But wherever they come from, Graham said, her mission is always the same: “I’m looking for actors that people will respond to.”
Casting is a very collaborative process, she explained. “One thing people don’t understand about casting is that we [casting directors] don’t have total control. We make our decisions with the writers and directors of the episode. It takes a village.”
Graham, who has worked on films, including Avatar, Before Midnight and Paranormal Activity 2, said the way it usually works is, “We will get the script and read it. Then we have a concept call with writers.” Sometimes she will go into the writers’ room for the series to “get a better idea of what they’re looking for, get a breakdown of the characters, get a little more information.”
She will then search for actors from movies, television and theater. “Alex Gansa [one of the show’s creators] will come to New York and see Broadway plays and sometimes be inspired by the actors.”
After seeing a revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Tracy Letts, “Alex insisted we get him and wrote a role for him. He’s got a good eye for talent and craft.”
In any case, Graham has learned to work very fast. “Usually, there are just about 10 to 12 days to get your cast for each episode.”
Graham, who was an opera singer for 10 years before getting into casting, began teaching classes to share her insights into what directors are looking for with actors. She has taught workshops all over the US and Europe, and said she was looking forward to “working with actors in a new region.”
The Stage Center is a non-profit organization founded by Rivi Feldmesser in 2002 to provide a place for actors to deepen their understanding of their craft. Feldmesser said, “At a time when Israeli actors are successfully breaking into global cinema, it was important for us at the Stage Center to set up a meeting and a master class with one of Hollywood’s most important casting directors.”
Graham’s master class will be hosted by Ophir Award-winning casting director Limor Shmila.
As a New Yorker, Graham doesn’t fear Israeli actors’ chutzpah. “I understand actors’ desperation to be seen,” she said, adding that her classes help them channel that desire in constructive ways.
Before heading back to her Barcelona workshop, she told me one last thing about Homeland: “By the time the first episode airs, it’s fresh for me because my head is far away.”
For more information about the workshops, go to stage-center.org.