Top Five Unconventional Casting Choices
Finding the perfect fit for a character sometimes calls for unconventional casting choices. Here at Aura Casting, we love when we can cast real people in roles.
Take a look at some of the most unconventional casting choices in film and television, in no particular order.
Barkhad Abdi as Abudwali Muse in Captain Phillips.
Abdi attended an open casting call in Minneapolis MN for the film Captain Phillips, having never acted before, Abdi landed the role which also landed him an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor and won the category at the BAFTAs.
Dominic Sessa as Angus Tully in The Holdovers.
Sessa landed the lead role in the 2024 Academy Awards Best Picture nominee after auditioning at his own school. The Holdovers casting director, Susan Shopmaker encouraged the students of the school, which served as the shooting location, to audition for the film. Sessa’s prior acting experience was limited to school plays, now he’s one of Hollywood’s biggest rising stars.
Bria Vinaite as Halley in The Florida Project.
Director of The Florida Project, Sean Baker, discovered Vinaite on Instagram. Baker found her through a video of her promoting her clothing line. Since then she’s appeared in Vogue and has been in several films since.
Hunter Schafer as Jules in Euphoria.
Schafer was planning on attending fashion school when she saw an open casting call on Instagram for a trans woman, no experience necessary. Schafer went through with the audition and landed a major role in the hit HBO show. Schafer received critical and fan adoration and recently joined The Hunger Games franchise as Tigris in the 2023 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
Darlene Cates as Bonnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
Cates appeared on an episode of the daytime talk show The Sally Jessy Raphael Show in 1992. Screenwriter Peter Hedges spotted her and wanted her to play the mother of Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio in the cult classic film.
Interested in casting real-people for your next project? Reach out to us today and let us discover your next star!
Written by Lauren Ulveling
