When HBO’s House of the Dragon premiered, one of the most controversial casting decisions was the choice of Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen. Alongside fans of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, even critics were skeptical that the Doctor Who star could bring the necessary depth and complexity to the role of the rogue prince.
Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon | Warner Bros. Discovery
However, despite the massive backlash that started after Matt Smith’s casting, showrunner Ryan Condal and casting director Kate Rhodes James took a gamble on Smith’s abilities. Eventually, it paid off wonderfully, when The Crown veteran proved the critics wrong in his portrayal of the Daemon.
The Complicated Casting of Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
When casting director Kate Rhodes James was hiring actors for Ryan Condal’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, she went through...
Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon | Warner Bros. Discovery
However, despite the massive backlash that started after Matt Smith’s casting, showrunner Ryan Condal and casting director Kate Rhodes James took a gamble on Smith’s abilities. Eventually, it paid off wonderfully, when The Crown veteran proved the critics wrong in his portrayal of the Daemon.
The Complicated Casting of Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
When casting director Kate Rhodes James was hiring actors for Ryan Condal’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon, she went through...
- 5/18/2024
- by Krittika Mukherjee
- FandomWire
Exclusive: Top Belgian distribution and production company Belga Films Group is teaming up with French director Cédric Nicolas-Troyan on an English-language, live action adaptation of the iconic, European comic book The Yellow M.
Nicolas-Troyan’s previous credits include the 2016 fantasy action-adventure tale The Huntsman: Winter’s War as well as Netflix’s action hit Kate and recently launched French-language series Furies.
The Yellow M is the sixth volume in Belgian artist Edgar P. Jacobs’ popular 1950s comic book series Blake and Mortimer, about the adventures of MI5 Captain Francis Blake and his scientist friend Philip Mortimer.
The cult series is considered a masterpiece of ligneclaire (the drawing style pioneered by Tintin creator Hergé) and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 15 languages. Franco-Belgian publishing house Dargaud – Le Lombard owns the rights to the comic strip.
Nicolas-Troyan, who is represented by CAA, will produce alongside Patrick Vandenbosch...
Nicolas-Troyan’s previous credits include the 2016 fantasy action-adventure tale The Huntsman: Winter’s War as well as Netflix’s action hit Kate and recently launched French-language series Furies.
The Yellow M is the sixth volume in Belgian artist Edgar P. Jacobs’ popular 1950s comic book series Blake and Mortimer, about the adventures of MI5 Captain Francis Blake and his scientist friend Philip Mortimer.
The cult series is considered a masterpiece of ligneclaire (the drawing style pioneered by Tintin creator Hergé) and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 15 languages. Franco-Belgian publishing house Dargaud – Le Lombard owns the rights to the comic strip.
Nicolas-Troyan, who is represented by CAA, will produce alongside Patrick Vandenbosch...
- 4/3/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s wild that we don’t have more recognition for the art of casting. Casting directors have a guild with an Academy branch, but not their own Oscar category. While the work can often seem alchemical or opaque to outsiders, casting directors are really in the first line of storytellers who collaborate on a film; they have to see and expand on a director’s vision for the film’s world and find the actors who will embody what the filmmakers aim to create. So IndieWire is bringing back an old pre-pandemic feature to celebrate the storytelling work of casting.
We reached out to a number of the film industry’s top casting directors to ask them to nominate one outstanding work from this year. As it turns out, though, the casting directors we spoke to had lots of films with casting they loved this year. “Being asked to...
We reached out to a number of the film industry’s top casting directors to ask them to nominate one outstanding work from this year. As it turns out, though, the casting directors we spoke to had lots of films with casting they loved this year. “Being asked to...
- 1/4/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Napoleon director-producer Ridley Scott was on stage at Deadline’s Contenders London event to discuss the journey behind his latest epic and why he chose Joaquin Phoenix to portray the iconic Emperor.
Speaking about casting Oscar winner Phoenix, who he had previously worked with on Gladiator [in which Phoenix played another Emperor], filmmaking legend Scott told the audience that he had always viewed Phoenix’s character in that movie as “the most sympathetic character in Gladiator, being the product of such a neglectful father.”
He continued: “I was blown away by his outrageous film Joker. I didn’t like the way it celebrated violence but Joaquin was remarkable. I thought he’d be an amazing asset to Napoleon, [not only creatively] also in a commercial sense. There were only two actors I had in mind for the role. I won’t mention the other one.”
Apple has partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment for a November 22 worldwide theatrical release launch for Napoleon,...
Speaking about casting Oscar winner Phoenix, who he had previously worked with on Gladiator [in which Phoenix played another Emperor], filmmaking legend Scott told the audience that he had always viewed Phoenix’s character in that movie as “the most sympathetic character in Gladiator, being the product of such a neglectful father.”
He continued: “I was blown away by his outrageous film Joker. I didn’t like the way it celebrated violence but Joaquin was remarkable. I thought he’d be an amazing asset to Napoleon, [not only creatively] also in a commercial sense. There were only two actors I had in mind for the role. I won’t mention the other one.”
Apple has partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment for a November 22 worldwide theatrical release launch for Napoleon,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
After sitting it out last year, Deadline’s Contenders film series returns to London today with a strong lineup featuring Ridley Scott, Emerald Fennell, Todd Haynes and Michael Mann among the panelists attending the awards-season event.
Contenders London gets underway this morning at London’s Ham Yard Hotel and will feature panels on 13 of the year’s buzziest films from eight studios and streamers. Deadline will have full coverage of the event all day on the website and on our social channels, where you can follow along using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.
In challenging times, it’s good to know quality cinema is never too far away, with films from some of the world’s biggest filmmakers on tap today. Along with Scott’s Napoleon, Fennell’s Saltburn, Haynes’ May December and Mann’s Ferrari, J.A. Bayona will present his Society of the Snow, Jeymes Samuel will open The Book of Clarence,...
Contenders London gets underway this morning at London’s Ham Yard Hotel and will feature panels on 13 of the year’s buzziest films from eight studios and streamers. Deadline will have full coverage of the event all day on the website and on our social channels, where you can follow along using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.
In challenging times, it’s good to know quality cinema is never too far away, with films from some of the world’s biggest filmmakers on tap today. Along with Scott’s Napoleon, Fennell’s Saltburn, Haynes’ May December and Mann’s Ferrari, J.A. Bayona will present his Society of the Snow, Jeymes Samuel will open The Book of Clarence,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
‘House Of Gucci’, ‘Spencer’ and ‘The Lost Daughter’ are also nominated.
Belfast, No Time To Die and House Of Gucci are among the titles nominated for the fifth annual UK and Ireland’s Casting Directors’ Guild’s (CDG) Casting Awards 2023.
The three titles are all nominated for best casting in a film, along with Spencer and The Lost Daughter.
The winners will be announced at the CDG Awards on February 22.
Scroll down for nominations
The nominees for best casting in an independent film includes Philip Barantini’s Boiling Point starring Stephen Graham and Sophie Hyde’s Good Luck To You,...
Belfast, No Time To Die and House Of Gucci are among the titles nominated for the fifth annual UK and Ireland’s Casting Directors’ Guild’s (CDG) Casting Awards 2023.
The three titles are all nominated for best casting in a film, along with Spencer and The Lost Daughter.
The winners will be announced at the CDG Awards on February 22.
Scroll down for nominations
The nominees for best casting in an independent film includes Philip Barantini’s Boiling Point starring Stephen Graham and Sophie Hyde’s Good Luck To You,...
- 1/23/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The UK representation scene was all abuzz about the next steps of respected former Troika co-founders Michael Duff and Conor McCaughan after they left their long-time agency back in 2020. We’re now getting more clarity on their next steps.
Duff has set up UK firm Maison Two, with a strong early client list, including Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame), Keeley Hawes (It’s A Sin), Maxine Peake (The Theory Of Everything), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Sophie Willan (Alma’s Not Normal) and House Of The Dragon and Line Of Duty casting director Kate Rhodes James.
Former Troika co-founder McCaughan co-reps Coel and is a collaborator at the new company. Doctor Who star Smith and Ted Lasso star Temple will be co-repped by Duff and Sarah Stephenson of B-Side Management. Stephenson and Duff previously worked together at Troika for a decade.
The independently financed,...
Duff has set up UK firm Maison Two, with a strong early client list, including Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame), Keeley Hawes (It’s A Sin), Maxine Peake (The Theory Of Everything), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Sophie Willan (Alma’s Not Normal) and House Of The Dragon and Line Of Duty casting director Kate Rhodes James.
Former Troika co-founder McCaughan co-reps Coel and is a collaborator at the new company. Doctor Who star Smith and Ted Lasso star Temple will be co-repped by Duff and Sarah Stephenson of B-Side Management. Stephenson and Duff previously worked together at Troika for a decade.
The independently financed,...
- 6/15/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
He was talking at the first Casting Directors Awards held in London on Tuesday,
Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant has called on Bafta and the Oscars to introduce best casting categories, saying casting work has been “astonishingly un-celebrated” by the film industry.
“I’ve wondered whether it’s because it’s female-dominated that it hasn’t been as to the forefront of other awards,” Grant told Screen at the inaugural Casting Directors Guild (Cdg) awards in London last night (February 12).
“There should be a category for them [at the Baftas and Oscars]. Casting director comes up in the list of credits so...
Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant has called on Bafta and the Oscars to introduce best casting categories, saying casting work has been “astonishingly un-celebrated” by the film industry.
“I’ve wondered whether it’s because it’s female-dominated that it hasn’t been as to the forefront of other awards,” Grant told Screen at the inaugural Casting Directors Guild (Cdg) awards in London last night (February 12).
“There should be a category for them [at the Baftas and Oscars]. Casting director comes up in the list of credits so...
- 2/13/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Maggie Smith is returning to the London stage for the first time in 12 years. The legendary actress will star in A German Life, a new play by Christopher Hampton at the Bridge Theatre. The story is drawn from the life of Brunhilde Pomsel, a one-time personal secretary to Joseph Goebbels. Smith, alone on stage, plays Pomsel. Directed by Jonathan Kent, A German Life begins previews on April 6 with a five-week run opening April 12. Pomsel’s life spanned the 20th century. She struggled to make ends meet in Berlin during the 1930s, her many employers including a Jewish insurance broker, the German Broadcasting Corporation and, eventually, Goebbels. A German Life is drawn from the testimony Pomsel gave when she finally broke her silence to a group of Austrian filmmakers, and from their documentary A German Life. Smith will be seen on screen...
- 2/13/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Greenlit means a project is officially a go, so all you have to do is follow these leads to stay up to date. You never know where you’ll find an opportunity to land an audition! “Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher 2”Surprise hit series “Keeping Faith/Un Bore Mercher” is returning for a second series, co-produced by S4C and BBC Wales. The crime drama follows lawyer and family woman, Faith, played by Eve Myles, as she seeks to understand the disappearance of her husband. The second series is to start filming for 18 weeks beginning Sept. 24 on location in Wales. Casting director Andy Morgan is attached but please note that the series is shot both in English and Welsh. “The Capture”New primetime BBC One series “The Capture” is the brainchild of writer-director Ben Chanan. A surveillance thriller set in London, it begins with the unjust arrest of an innocent man...
- 9/17/2018
- backstage.com
Greenlit means a project is officially a go, so all you have to do is follow these leads to stay up to date. You never know where you’ll find an opportunity to land an audition! “Line of Duty”Police corruption drama “Line of Duty” returns next year for a fifth series. Creator Jed Mercurio’s prime time thriller about anti-corruption cops shoots six more episodes for the BBC starting in September and has casting director Kate Rhodes James attached. “Anne”Factual drama, “Anne,” tells the true story of Anne Williams and her campaign for justice following the death of her teenage son in the Hillsborough Disaster. “Anne” is scripted by local writer Kevin Sampson for ITV. Shooting begins this September in Liverpool and casting director Jill Trevelick is attached. “The Loney”Novel “The Loney” by Michael Hurley was hailed as a “gothic masterpiece” by The Guardian in 2015 and is...
- 6/4/2018
- backstage.com
We chat to Peter Harness, writer of Doctor Who and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, currently airing on Sunday nights on BBC One...
Writer Peter Harness is currently on a roll. After attracting praise for his work on Wallander, his Doctor Who episode Kill The Moon brought him to more mainstream attention. But it’s his current work which should propel him to the A-List of British writing talent, a place fully deserved. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, the 800+ page period fantasy novel, considered by many to be unadaptable, has debuted as a TV series on the BBC to rave reviews (not least on this site).
One of the adaptation's key strengths is the streamlined nature of the script, which still captures perfectly the world and characters created by novelist Susanna Clarke. For that, Perter Harness must earn the plaudits. Proving to be a very charming and clever guy, he took the...
Writer Peter Harness is currently on a roll. After attracting praise for his work on Wallander, his Doctor Who episode Kill The Moon brought him to more mainstream attention. But it’s his current work which should propel him to the A-List of British writing talent, a place fully deserved. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, the 800+ page period fantasy novel, considered by many to be unadaptable, has debuted as a TV series on the BBC to rave reviews (not least on this site).
One of the adaptation's key strengths is the streamlined nature of the script, which still captures perfectly the world and characters created by novelist Susanna Clarke. For that, Perter Harness must earn the plaudits. Proving to be a very charming and clever guy, he took the...
- 5/20/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Kate Rhodes-james Casting is currently looking for the following:
16-18 year old male actor. Must be of Indian origin and ideally able to do an Indian accent. Can be based anywhere in the UK.
If currently aged 15yrs, applicants must turn 16yrs before the end of 2014.
This is for an ITV series, shooting from January 2015.
To be considered, please email krjcastingcall@gmail.com with the following:
Recent Clear Photo, Age & Date Of Birth, and Short Biog.
16-18 year old male actor. Must be of Indian origin and ideally able to do an Indian accent. Can be based anywhere in the UK.
If currently aged 15yrs, applicants must turn 16yrs before the end of 2014.
This is for an ITV series, shooting from January 2015.
To be considered, please email krjcastingcall@gmail.com with the following:
Recent Clear Photo, Age & Date Of Birth, and Short Biog.
- 10/20/2014
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
AMC is turning to London as it searches for a series to replace “Mad Men,” whose final season debuts this month. “Knifeman,” a pilot adapted from Wendy Moore’s biography of early medical pioneer John Hunter, is set to be cast by London-based casting director Kate Rhodes James, Backstage has learned. The drama, which is set in the 18th century, follows an unorthodox self-educated surgeon, played by Tim Roth, who will “go to any length to learn the secrets of the human body.” Brian Percival, who worked on “Downton Abbey,” is set to direct the pilot, which is in production in the United Kingdom.
- 4/1/2014
- backstage.com
Well, this is a shocker: "American Horror Story" has tied "Mad Men" to lead the nominees for 2012 Emmys with 17 nominations each. It did so in the category of "Miniseries or Movie" rather than "Drama Series", but we'll take it. Read on to learn what other genre shows are in the running - yes, "The Walking Dead" makes an appearance!
For the full rundown of all the talented nominees, visit the official Emmys website, and be sure to watch the live broadcast of the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards on ABC on Sunday, September 23rd, at 7:00 Pm Et/4:00 Pm Pt.
Outstanding Drama Series
"Game Of Thrones" • HBO • Bighead, Littlehead, Generator Productions, Television 360, and Grok Television in association with HBO Entertainment
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
"Dexter" • Showtime • Showtime Presents, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, Devilina Productions
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A...
For the full rundown of all the talented nominees, visit the official Emmys website, and be sure to watch the live broadcast of the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards on ABC on Sunday, September 23rd, at 7:00 Pm Et/4:00 Pm Pt.
Outstanding Drama Series
"Game Of Thrones" • HBO • Bighead, Littlehead, Generator Productions, Television 360, and Grok Television in association with HBO Entertainment
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
"Dexter" • Showtime • Showtime Presents, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, Devilina Productions
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A...
- 7/19/2012
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
It's a good day for funny people, especially if your name is Tina Fey or Seth MacFarlane.
Fey's series, 30 Rock, was handed 22 Emmy nominations this morning, which stands as a record for a comedy series. She and Alec Baldwin were also nominated for acting awards. Plus, for the first time some of the other actors on NBC's laffer were recognized. Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer and Tracy Morgan all picked up supporting nominations.
MacFarlane's Family Guy was also nominated for best comedy series, the first time an animated show has cracked that category since The Flintstones in 1961. Two years ago MacFarlane decided to pull his show from contention in the animated series category to have it considered for best comedy.
Mad Men, the drama about the advertising world in the sixties, picked up 16 nominations in the drama categories, including a best actor nod for Jon Hamm. Hamm is also nominated as...
Fey's series, 30 Rock, was handed 22 Emmy nominations this morning, which stands as a record for a comedy series. She and Alec Baldwin were also nominated for acting awards. Plus, for the first time some of the other actors on NBC's laffer were recognized. Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer and Tracy Morgan all picked up supporting nominations.
MacFarlane's Family Guy was also nominated for best comedy series, the first time an animated show has cracked that category since The Flintstones in 1961. Two years ago MacFarlane decided to pull his show from contention in the animated series category to have it considered for best comedy.
Mad Men, the drama about the advertising world in the sixties, picked up 16 nominations in the drama categories, including a best actor nod for Jon Hamm. Hamm is also nominated as...
- 7/16/2009
- CinemaSpy
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