Jessica Daniels
Jessica Daniels is an Artios and Emmy Award-winning Casting Director for film and television. Film credits include MASTER, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VERSION, LUCKY GRANDMA, SELAH & THE SPADES, THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST, A VIGILANTE, ROXANNE ROXANNE, TYREL, THE STRANGE ONES, WHITE GIRL, WIENER-DOG and NASTY BABY. TV credits include DEADBEAT, HELPSTERS, BENDERS, AFTER AFTER PARTY, SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE, BRAINCHILD, STARVED, THE CARRIE DIARIES and 30 ROCK. For 4 years, Jessica served as VP Casting at Walt Disney Television Studios in New York and for the 6 years prior, she cast exclusively for 20th Century Fox Television during pilot season, contributing series regulars and major guest cast to dozens of pilots and series including THE DROPOUT, THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, NATIONAL TREASURE, GENIUS: EINSTEIN, TYRANT, LIFE IN PIECES, TALES FROM THE LOOP, FRESH OFF THE BOAT and AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE VS. OJ SIMPSON. Current Projects include Todd Solondz’ feature film LOVE CHILD and New York casting on the FX limited series DYING FOR SEX.
28TH APRIL 2024, BROOKLYN
Yellowbelly: What advice do you have for recent graduates?
Jessica: “It’s important to give yourself grace and use this time to strengthen your life skills and tools for self-preservation in an industry that can be grinding. You know how to prepare for a role once it’s yours, but what steps must you take to do your best at an audition? What are your takeaways from each audition experience? Increase and repeat what works for you and change or shed what doesn’t. What activities are most useful for you to release stress? What brings you joy and ignites your spirit and sense of fun? And, as you build your network, it’s important to consider who is in your “front row” — the friends, loved ones, and fellow artists who are there for you in your disappointments and your triumphs — relationships, both personal and professional, are the key to thriving in this business — and just like everything else, they change and grow with you.”
Yellowbelly: Do you mind when auditionees send a few versions of a self-tape? Re different accents/ different intentions?
Jessica: “If it’s a self-tape, I prefer that you send your best takes of a scene. If it’s a brief scene or a couple lines then that’s an exception – I’ll take 2 or 3 takes — but ideally they are all distinctly different from one another. Thankfully, I am doing more and more zoom and in person auditions where I almost always will do more than one take with an actor.”
Yellowbelly: How often do you contact actors you’ve previously auditioned, who were unsuccessful for roles that come up in the future?
Jessica: “All the time! If an actor auditions for me and I like them but for whatever reason they don’t book the role, I will call them in for another role or project as soon as I’m able. An enormous part of the audition process is casting directors and actors getting to know each another and building organic relationships that persist for years and decades. There are actors who I formerly auditioned on the regular and now they are offer only, and I still include them on my lists.”
Yellowbelly: What are your 3 big ‘yes’ when you view someone’s resume that makes you want to invite them to audition?
Jessica: “1) Exciting content – if you’ve appeared in films, series or plays I love, or work made by a director or producer I admire — even in a small role, YES! 2) Theatre and Training – if you’ve done great plays, worked on difficult material, trained at respected schools or studios or with wonderful teachers — that’s another YES and 3) Improvisation – especially if I’m working on comedic material, I think improv training is invaluable and allows an actor to be facile and playful in a way that’s hard to find elsewhere — YES AND for the win.”
