Casting Happily Ever After: A Discussion with Veronica C Rooney

Interview by Diane J Reed -  @DianeJReed

Hi Veronica—thank you for taking time out to talk with us! We know your career has already been quite varied. For example, you've been involved in the casting for such hit shows as Alias and Lost, and you were recently nominated for the Casting Society of America's Artios Award for your work on Once Upon a Time. Can you tell us about your journey to become a casting director? What kind of training or experience did you go through to enter this profession?

I had worked for several years with April Webster. When asked this question, I often say I came from "The April Webster School of Casting". Working with her was invaluable. Her taste, style and generosity towards actors is something to be admired, and I try to bring the same to the table whenever I do a project.

What is the casting process like—do you look through piles of resumes & head shots & videos and then make tons of phone calls? Or do Hollywood agents primarily contact you? Give us a glimpse of what your average day is like (and pardon our ignorance!).

A typical day goes as follows: A script will be coming out which will require a few new roles. I then release what is called a breakdown. This breakdown lists the characters I am looking for with a description that includes age, type and any quality I may need for the role. The agents, who all have access to the breakdowns, then submit their ideas to me online based on the character description. From there, I chose actors to bring in. I read with them while my associate records the performance on camera, and then we present our choices to the producers. That's basically the short version of what I do on a weekly basis.

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