Casting director Suzanne Smith has a outstanding expertise for locating recent faces and constructing unforgettable ensembles. Her work on hit collection like Outlander and Silo has launched audiences to new expertise whereas conserving every world feeling genuine and lived-in. Now, she’s again with Outlander: Blood of My Blood, the extremely anticipated Starz prequel to Outlander, which traces the roots of the Fraser household and the sweeping love tales that started all of it.
On this interview, Smith talked about her strategy to casting new faces, the challenges of discovering actors who not solely resemble their Outlander counterparts but in addition carry the identical essence, and the way the trade’s shift to self-tapes has reshaped the audition course of. She additionally shared tales from the casting room, from recognizing rapid chemistry between results in discovering future stars in surprising self-tapes (even one involving an actor consuming a pork chop). This interview has been edited for size and readability. Watch the complete dialog within the video above or on our YouTube channel.
One of many issues that I actually preferred about this present and the unique Outlander, is that I didn’t know a lot of the actors in it. They had been principally all new faces to me, so it was a lot simpler for me to get into the world of the present. What was causing not casting any large time, recognizable faces for this and the unique?
Suzanne Smith: Nicely, Starz at all times type of stated, we’ll make you a star, which is nice. And likewise, you’ve acquired to have the truth of, we do have Scottish actors. We do have some actors who aren’t Scottish enjoying Scottish, however even the Scottish actors typically go, “I didn’t know they weren’t Scottish,” particularly on Blood of My Blood. It’s fairly humorous.
I really feel like UK actors, they’ll nearly do any type of accent instantly.
Suzanne Smith: Generally, typically not. In the event you’ve been to drama college, you in all probability have performed all of the accents since you’ve acquired three years of coaching and also you do various voice teaching there.
Who was the primary individual that was forged on this?
Suzanne Smith: It was Jamie Roy.
While you learn the primary script, did his identify come to thoughts?
Suzanne Smith: We knew him, and we had put his identify apart. We additionally had to keep in mind, we had been casting individuals who ought to appear like their mother and father, or they had been in Outlander and we’re casting the youthful variations.
So, we acquired photos of all of the characters in Outlander and put them on a giant board. And having labored on the present, I knew what their traits or their essence was.
For each function, we noticed numerous actors. Jamie Roy acquired the function, however we noticed numerous actors for Brian Fraser, and a few of these actors that we noticed for Brian Fraser, we stated, “oh, you maybe might be [someone else] alongside the way in which.” It’s a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, isn’t it?
I at all times consider casting like these crime exhibits the place they’ve like photos of individuals with the purple traces going in every single place.
Suzanne Smith: You begin with one and you then work out, however we knew the characters anyway. Sam Redford is Dougal, and when he got here in, I used to be with Jamie Payne, the director, and we checked out one another and we went, forged him. It was simply that feeling that he took over and he simply had that Dougal essence that was proper.
And Sadhbh [Malin], who performs Jocasta, I imply, she appears to be like a lot like our older Jocasta and so they’re each Irish. It was fantastic to have that, since you look straight to her eyes and also you simply go, ‘oh my God.’
Talking of Sam, I noticed an interview the place he stated that he was fascinated with quitting appearing earlier than you requested him to audition for Brian. He within the self-tape and you then referred to as him again a few months later for Dougal.
Suzanne Smith: A whole lot of the boys had been, we referred to as them for Brian. The identical with Murtagh, Rory [Alexander]. As quickly as we noticed them, you go, ‘properly, you’re not a Brian, however we such as you, you slot in.’ And so we earmark them for different roles.
Do you bear in mind what it was about his self-tape that you just preferred? He stated he was consuming a pork chop in it.
Suzanne Smith: He simply had that type of Graham McTavish sturdy power the place you are feeling that he may do something and is fierce, however he’s truly very light. However that’s actors for you, isn’t it? The individuals who play the baddies and typically the gentlest folks.
Who was the toughest to forged?
Suzanne Smith: The ladies, Ellen (Harriet Slater).
Why is that?
Suzanne Smith: Harriet, I’ve identified for a very long time, and I liked her, but in addition, you’ve acquired to have the chemistry with the fellows. Jamie Roy has stated that he display screen examined with various pretty actresses and we knew that in my workplace, he and Harriet had rapid chemistry. That’s one thing you possibly can’t faux.
However we needed to do it remotely as a result of Harriet was not in London the place I’m based mostly and Jamie was in Scotland, and she or he occurred to be in Scotland. So we did it and we had been all trying on a display screen and it was rapid.
After watching tons of self-tapes and auditions and also you’re lastly whittling down actors for one function to a few or 4 folks, do you’ve got one one who you suppose is finest for that exact function?
Suzanne Smith: Generally you do, typically you don’t. I used to be very fortunate we had our director, Jamie Payne with us. He got here into our studio and we labored with the actors and we noticed them earlier than we display screen examined them, so that you get to know them.
And typically you simply knew, like after we noticed Sam Retford do his Dougal audition. He got here down from Manchester, he was on his motorcycle and he got here in and we, as I stated, we simply checked out one another and went, ‘forged him.’ He simply had this manly power that type of took over our studio.
Generally it’s more durable to coax folks with their roles as a result of they do get nervous.
And it’s modified a lot now since COVID as a result of we used to tape on a regular basis and it’s now principally self-tapes as a result of we did look in every single place for our leads. We appeared in Australia, we did look in Canada. We did have a large internet, since you at all times wish to discover one of the best actor for the function.
For instance, Tony Curran, he’s type of probably the most recognizable face that we’ve. He was chosen as a result of he has the suitable attributes for Lord Lovett. Ned Gowan (Conor MacNeill), we needed to have anyone who was wanting stature, shall I say? So you’re then a special discipline, you must have anyone who’s extremely smart for that function and likewise has that type of kindness and persistence and voice which Connor has. And he’s performed numerous different work as properly.
Watching this, the unique Outlander and numerous the stuff you do, casting clever, every thing is so spot on. It’s acquired to really feel so satisfying whenever you get the proper forged and shut the ebook on the season.
Suzanne Smith: Very satisfying. As a result of ultimately, as a casting director, you do have a say, however in the end you’re not the one who makes the ultimate choice. Since you’ve acquired producers, showrunners, you’ve acquired studio and community, so all people does have a say on what. You actually do need to consider in who’s working the present and who is true for the function. And if mandatory, argue your nook.
And it’s so good, all of them care about one another, which is implausible. They’re all pals. After I was up just lately, you realize, they had been all going, “oh, are you popping out tonight for dinner?” They’re all very, very shut, which is beautiful. And that makes it extra satisfying to know that not solely have you ever acquired nice actors, they’re additionally pretty folks.
Now that self-tapes are the way in which issues are going, what are your prime self-tape suggestions? What makes an incredible self-tape?
Suzanne Smith: I imply, you are able to do it these days in your telephone. You don’t want fancy issues. You don’t want fancy lighting, and also you don’t even need to be taught every thing off by coronary heart, so long as we will see your eyes.
I suppose certainly one of my finest suggestions is to have a look at the scene and suppose, ‘why have I been given the scene? What do they wish to see from me as an actor?’
And it’s not that you are able to do something and every thing. It’s that you just’re being given a scene and there should be a cause why you’ve been on condition that scene.
Try to do as a lot analysis as potential as a result of typically it’s a style factor. What’s the tempo of it?
Completely different nationalities do various things, I’ve seen, which is fascinating. Say Germans, if it’s an outdoor scene, they’ll shoot outdoors. If there’s meals, they may eat. Props aren’t mandatory until you are feeling that it helps you, like with a gun or a sword.
Simply profile and be sure that we do see your face, that’s all.
It doesn’t matter to me, what the background is. And these days, you need to use apps for those who can’t discover anyone to learn with you. In the event you haven’t acquired a reader, we’ll Zoom with you, we’ll learn with you as a result of it’s not at all times that handy.
Right here within the UK, within the previous days, it was, you’d get 15 pages to be taught as an actor, which was ridiculous actually. It was terrifying that you just’ve acquired to be taught that. Now it’s much less, which is implausible. We attempt to give actors as a lot time as potential, and we do watch each single tape.
As an actor, it’s at all times onerous to suppose, “I’ve actually performed an incredible audition, however I didn’t get the function.” I feel you simply need to put the door on it and simply go, “properly, it’s a craft. If I’m requested again, they like me. They need me to do properly.”
And in Blood of My Blood, that’s what we’ve performed with various the characters. Ellen’s sisters have come from actresses that auditioned for Ellen. Now we have utilized numerous actors that we noticed for different roles who ultimately acquired a job.
