You would think that casting for a hit show would be a walk in the park, if only in the sense that you’d have any actor within driving distance beating down your door for the chance to audition. But while there might be an element of truth to that, the problem with living in a golden age of television is that it’s also become a golden age of non-disclosure agreements. Just look at the often insane lengths that shows like ‘Game of Thrones‘ go to in order to keep plot details under wraps. And it’s not just the people who might be expected to make the rounds on talk shows – the cast, writers, and producers – whose jobs are made more difficult because of all this secrecy. It’s everyone.
Take Carmen Cuba, the acclaimed casting director for ‘Stranger Things’. Now, ‘Stranger Things’ has received as much acclaim for its casting as for its storytelling, so to say that Ms. Cuba is good at her job would be an understatement. But the secrecy surrounding show’s hotly anticipated the third season is creating its own set of challenges on her end of the process. As she explained to the Hollywood Reporter:
“There’s a certain storyline that’s challenging that we have to keep going back to the well for… There’s a lot of secrecy, and we can’t say what parts we’re looking for, so it’s still a weird challenge. I know that if we said, “We’re looking for this and it’s for ‘Stranger Things’,” we would have tons more options, but it’s still a lot of work.”
So the nature of the storyline means that the casting calls have to be vague. So vague, in fact, that they apparently can’t even confirm the show the potential players are auditioning for. That’s certainly an unusual predicament, and you can easily see how it might limit your options. But like Goonies, casting directors never say die! And while Cuba might not have as big a talent pool to pull from as she might like, her prior work on the series should be enough to assure fans that these mystery roles are in good hands.
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on the upcoming third season of ‘Stranger Things’ as it becomes available!
While Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for ‘Stranger Things 3’, the season is currently expected to debut in the summer of 2019. The new season will feature returning stars Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Priah Ferguson, and Charlie Heaton alongside newcomers Cary Elwes. Jake Busey, and Francesca Reale.
