If we’re talking about the all-time great casting directors, Bonnie Timmermann’s name is going to be on the list. Over a career that has spanned more than four decades, her credits include Trading Places, The Karate Kid, Manhunter, Miami Vice, Dirty Dancing, Bull Durham, Midnight Run, The Last of the Mohicans, Dave, Glengarry Glen Ross, Heat, The Insider, Armageddon and Black Hawk Down, and that’s just some of them. While she’s slowed down a bit in recent years, she is still one of the industry’s most revered professionals, and remains at the top of her game.
The evidence is Roofman, the first film she has cast in several years, but which has a mind-boggling cast, all of whom turn in fantastic work. Based on a true story, Roofman follows a charismatic thief on the run from the police, who hides out in a Toys R Us and starts a relationship with one of the employees. Co-written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, it stars Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Peter Dinklage, Ben Mendelsohn, Uzo Aduba and Juno Temple, and is now available on VOD. She spoke with us from New York City.
Key Insights:
- Bonnie Timmermann’s decades-long relationships in the industry allow her to identify and secure the perfect actors for each role.
- She values in-person, hands-on casting, blending old-school intuition with modern digital tools to discover talent.
- Building a great cast requires collaboration and trust between the casting director, director, and actors.
This is your second time working with Derek, after I Know This Much Is True. How did that come about?
I was developing a book series I’d optioned and approached Michael Mann, who I’d worked with many times. He was too busy, but then Ben Mendelsohn, who I wanted to play the lead, suggested Derek. So I said, “Did I just die and go to heaven?”
Because I love Blue Valentine so much. We had lunch, and he asked me to do I Know This Much Is True. Mark Ruffalo was a producer on the show. He said to me, “Bonnie, you never gave me a job!” I said, “I wanted to. I tried. I tried everything I could!” (Laughs) I got to work with two of my favorites, not just the cast, but Derek and Mark, who is a force of nature.
So when this came around, you already had the relationship with Derek. Was Channing on board?
I’ve worked with Channing before, and Derek asked what I thought of him for this part, just before everything started. I said, “I love him. I think it’s his turn now to show people what he can do, because he’s so touching in in the movie.” I think just my response alone helped Derek to make a decision, but I think he really wanted him and Kirsten.
That is a perfect segue about bringing Kirsten on. What was it that made you see Kirsten in that role?
Well, we had Channing. And Kirsten’s a wonderful actor. I think that it was clear. We had several people we were thinking of, but she became the favorite. I know that Channing tells a story about how nervous he was to meet her and used that in the movie.
They really gelled together. It was a very touching relationship. Of course, I loved everybody. Ben Mendelsohn, obviously, who I thought was wonderful and played so out of character. And Peter Dinklage and Juno — we’re very, very lucky to get all these kind of crazy people together.
Well, that was the thing that fascinated me about the movie — the cast is spectacular. I mean, the amount of talent, even Emory Cohen, who I think is great, coming in and playing that small role …
Me too, me too. He’s a lovely person if you talk to him.
I’m always glad to see him on screen. But there are so many brilliant actors in these little tiny roles. Juno Temple, Melonie Diaz, Uzo Aduba, all show up in what are essentially cameos.
I went out to LA with Derek, and we took rooms at the Chateau Marmont, and we got a table for him in the lobby. He knows everybody and he just took a lot of time with people he wanted to meet, and then we read actors. We did it all.
I’m pretty old-fashioned when it comes to casting. I’m sort of obsessive. So I want to do it the old-fashioned way and not just by Zoom. Although, to be honest with you, it’s quite wonderful that after the pandemic, we were able to find a different way to cast movies from afar. So we did good by that. But I still like to meet people and talk to them.
So basically it was just that people wanted to work with Derek? Even LaKeith’s role is pretty small.
Every time I offer him a part, he turns me down! (Laughs) But yes, I think it has a lot to do with Derek. I think he’s really special, and I think you see it in his movies. That’s sort of the way I felt when I first met him. We were sitting at the Four Seasons hotel in New York and I think I might have said, “Yeah, I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
I’m just a big fan. I’ll tell you something else, which was interesting, I got thousands of submissions. Thousands. It was hard to keep up. So many people wanted to do the movie, and I was proud that was happening. So I had many choices for him, and I think he chose the people he fell in love with.
You think that LaKeith finally accepted one of your offers because of Derek?
I do. Yes, I do. Because they got on a Zoom call, and I thought, he’s going to get off that call. He’s going to say yes, just [because of] the way Derek is.
Tell me about casting Kirsten’s daughters, Lily Collias and Kennedy Moyer. Because I don’t know that I had seen either before, but they’re both really wonderful in the movie.
The manager George Freeman got me Lily’s movie. I also did The Insider with Russell Crowe, so we have a nice relationship. So I think I saw a review of her, and I called George and asked for the movie and promised I wouldn’t send it out, I just had to see it. I had this feeling about her. So he sent me the movie, and then I immediately sent it to Derek and said, “Don’t send it out to anybody. I’ll get in trouble.” (Laughs) But we both saw it, and we loved her.
I don’t know, you just get a feeling about somebody that you hear about or you see in a film or you see in a show, and you know you want to work with them. Lily was definitely one of them. Then Kennedy did a show with Mark Ruffalo and I called him and said, “You’re working with Kennedy, what do you think?” He said, “I love her,” and I trust Mark and his judgment and his feelings, so that’s how that happened.
What guides you as a casting director?
The theater and art. When I get stuck, I’ll go to a museum and look at beautiful paintings and just open myself up to art and keep pursuing what I think is right.
You put together this brilliant cast, something you’ve done many times before. Having done it, do you allow yourself to appreciate a job well done when you hit it out of the park? Or do you just kind of say, “Okay, on to the next?”
Oh, no, I go up and down with the ship. If a movie is good, I’m happy. If it’s not good, I’m still there. I’m still supporting it and hoping for its life. Everything I do is important to me. I guess I could say I’m grateful for the work and the opportunity to be a part of this business. I’m one of the lucky ones.
Key Takeaways:
- Strong professional networks are essential for consistently assembling top-tier casts.
- Thoughtful, personalized casting approaches can uncover unexpected talent and chemistry on screen.
- Success in casting relies as much on process and relationships as on individual actor performances.
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