Time to Shine
Casting directors will finally get the Oscar attention they deserve after years of lobbying
When Bonnie Timmermann is helping Ridley Scott or Michael Mann find the perfect person for a role in films like “Black Hawk Down” and “Heat,” she will buy auditioning actors pizza and grill them about their lives and ambitions. Sooner or later, they’ll get around to reading the scenes, but Timmermann has an innate sense of how to put performers at ease.
“You need to understand who they are, so when they get in front of a director you know how to help them deliver their best work,” she says. “The only way you can do that is to understand their psyche.”
And when she’s not overseeing casting calls, you’ll find Timmermann at screenings or plays on the prowl for talent. She likes to keep Polaroids and videos of actors she’s tried out — even the ones she’s turned down, because you never know when the right part will come around.
Timmermann’s all-consuming approach isn’t unique. This year’s Oscar contenders, from sprawling epics like “Oppenheimer” to intimate dramas like “Past Lives,” benefited from casting directors who sought out fresh faces or gave established stars roles that played to their strengths or went gloriously against type. And yet, in the 96-year history of the Academy Awards, their contributions were overlooked. That changed last week with the announcement that starting in 2026 there will be a prize for best achievement in casting, the culmination of a decadeslong campaign for recognition.
“Ever since I started, it was a topic of ‘When are we going to get this?’” says Jenny Jue, a casting director on “Inglourious Basterds” and “Okja.”
As the news hit, Jue reflected on why her profession has remained out of the spotlight.
“There’s a sense in casting that you toil away in the shadows, and that’s where we do our best work,” she says. “You shouldn’t notice that it’s good casting. It just is.”
Talks with the Academy have been ongoing for years, but in recent months members of the casting directors branch sensed that a new Oscar was likely to be introduced. For now, many think their acceptance speeches won’t be broadcast, because adding awards would make it difficult for the telecast to clock in at three hours. The Academy hasn’t yet made any official statement.
Even if that’s the case, most casting directors are thrilled to finally have their moment. They just wish it hadn’t been so long in coming.
“I’m gobsmacked that it happened in my lifetime,” says Marci Liroff, a casting director on “Mean Girls” and “E.T. the Extra-terrestrial.” “But there’s a lot of beautiful work that my peers have done over their careers that didn’t have a chance to be recognized.”
Still, David Rubin, a casting director who served as president of the Academy, believes that this Oscar will send a powerful message to those entering the business.
“You have to think about the impact it has on young casting directors and young casting associates and casting assistants, who are toiling away in very busy offices in the earliest stages of their careers,” he says.