‘Andor’ casting team about populating Ghorman and finding the young Kleya
Nina Gold and Martin Ware are not strangers for the “Star Wars” universe, who have previously worked on films such as “The Rise of Skywalker” and the “The Acolyte.” And the couple clearly knows their British talent – last year they shared the Emmy Award for casting the limited series ‘Baby Reindeer’, which made sensations from actors such as Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning.
They were performed to cast the Disney Plus series ‘Andor’, a prequel of the film ‘Rogue One’, in the first season – What Gold admits was a challenging experience as the Pandemic Hit in the middle of Casting. But the second season, which just wrapped a much -praised run, was “a bit more normal.” It helped that the first season was received so well and that writing the maker and showrunner Tony Gilroy was flawless. “The scripts are so brilliant, actors just love to do it,” Were reveals. “You get really brilliant actors who want to come in and play even smaller parts. Every role is an integral part of the story, there is no loose fat in writing and actors love that.”
Yet season 2 had its challenges, such as populating the planet Ghorman in a storyline that started to feel too in time. Ghorman is flooded and oppressed by the Imperial Empire, which gives rise to continuous protests by his citizens and threatens the rule of the empire. But the empire launches a propaganda campaign that these protests are dangerous and violent, and sends troops, with the highlight episode 8’s Bloodshed, known as the Ghorman Massacre.
Groundwork
Several major actors repeated their “Andor” season 1 roles from their role “Rogue One” – in particular the leading role, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Nevertheless, the casting directors populated the “Andor” semble with some real discoveries, including Elizabeth Dulau as Kleya Marki, who starts as an assistant to Stellan Skarsgård’s prominent rebels -operative Luthen Rael. “We went on a journey a bit before we found Elizabeth and it was actually her first role on the screen,” says Ware.
Although more is based for his work on stage, including an Olivier Award-winning turn in “The Inheritance”-Werd Kyle Soller cast as a deputy inspector Syril Karn, based on what gold calls “the most amazing audition you have ever seen”. Adds true: “He just came in and spent half an hour in the room with Tony and Tony said,” That’s the man. ” So we didn’t read so many people. “
Another actor who was new to them was Muhannad Bhaier, who plays Wilmon Paak, a young man who joins the uprising after his father is killed by the empire. “He has a small part in the first season and became a very large part of the second season,” says Ware, and noted that the CDs did not know that that would happen. “They just loved him, they were so enthusiastic about him. And when Tony came to talk to us about the second season, he said they had made a big role for him. He just made so much impression on them, even with just a few lines in the first season.”
The return
For season 2 of “Andor” Gold says that they were introduced to many French actors by Mathilde Snodgrass, a colleague in Paris, to populate Ghorman’s planet. The people of the planet dress in clothing that resemble the daily Parisian appearance of the 1930s and the planet is known for its superior canvas and fashion. Gilroy was inspired by the series ‘VN Village Français’ of that country (‘a French village’) – in fact that series contained actor Thierry Godard, who was cast in ‘Andor’ as a readine, who criticizes the occupation of the planet.
Gold says that the casting of French actors was also “a good way to distinguish them as people from which planets we might have it.” Another challenge was that the Ghormans would speak a fictional language. Notes true: “We talked to them about whether they could get their heads around that they will perform fairly in -depth, emotional pieces in a fully invented language. And they all threw themselves in and were brilliant.”
One of the largest tasks of season 2 was the casting of a young version of Kleya. “That was a big, intimidating challenge,” admits true. “She has such a specific atmosphere that we wanted to find it in a child.” They finally found April V. Woods, who true said, “Save us out.” Although they had not met her before, Woods had been part of a youth drama group and had done a TV series called “Malory Towers”. Says true: “She was so good at being so serious and being an adult, but also to be a child.” He adds that they could combine her early with Skarsgård and they immediately worked together perfectly. “She was not intimated at all, she could just talk to him like in the show – like a pear.”
Find talent
Gold says that they are always looking for new faces and spending a lot of time at drama schools “where you see new people and find people you never knew.” Were adds that he sees many comedy shows, live and on the screen. “I try to view everything, even the real low-budget British things, small comic things on the BBC where people do their first work.” He adds that the annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland is a great showcase for rising talent.
When asked about the eternal question that actors are about what casting directors are looking for, gold and true are simple and encouraging. “There is a huge amount of goodwill in the room,” says Ware. “There is a reason that they are there. We want that person to succeed, we want them to come in and just blow ourselves away and get the role and then we can all go home early.” Adds gold: “If they look good, we look good.”
Of course they recommend that they are prepared, but also remain flexible. “Be open to trying new things and pushing it around,” says Gold. And don’t think of an audition like just going out for one role – the casting directors will remember the line. “When we approach a new part, we always think of actors we have recently seen or have had an audition,” says Ware. “We always refer back to lists and audit tapes. So even if an actor has auditioned several times and has not received the role, we will find the right one for them.”
