Avy Kaufman on Casting ‘Sentimental Value’

Working on the American casting of Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value was an experience Avy Kaufman won’t soon forget.

The Norwegian family drama follows two sisters (Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) as they reconnect with their estranged filmmaker father (Stellan Skarsgård). Tensions surface when he brings Hollywood actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) to Norway, casting her in his latest film as his own daughter, in a story drawn from their contentious family history.

Kaufman was brought on to the project through the film’s Norwegian casting director, Yngvill Kolset Haga, who previously collaborated with Trier on The Worst Person in the World and Thelma. Haga strongly believed that bringing in an American casting director for American roles in Sentimental Value would strengthen the film.

Key Insights

• Cross-border casting collaborations can strengthen a film when local and international casting directors align creatively and trust one another’s instincts.

• Building a believable ensemble requires precision, balance, and deep consideration of how each performance interacts within the larger story.

• Effective auditions and self tapes are simple, focused, and distraction-free, allowing the actor’s work to remain front and center.

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“I understand the level of Joachim’s work, and casting is the most serious part of it,” Haga told Casting Networks. “So why not collaborate with fantastic colleagues?”

Kaufman explained that although she had partnered with other casting directors before on projects, it was “never to this extent.”

“To work with someone that I didn’t previously know, who is easy and lovely and smart, and to have a joint love of what we’re doing, has been an extra special gift,” Kaufman said of the experience.

Haga, who handled the Norwegian roles on her home turf, credited Kaufman for casting Rachel Kemp and her entourage, seamlessly integrating them into the film. “It was this separate world that came into the Norwegian world, and Avy made it fit very well.”

Trier, for his part, was deeply involved throughout the process.

“Joachim came to New York, and we cast in person, which was great,” Kaufman said, noting that Reinsve was already attached to star, and Skarsgård was in the process of coming on board at the time.

Actors based in Los Angeles auditioned over Zoom, while Kaufman worked closely with Trier to develop lists of American actors and discuss possibilities. In some cases, she even assembled reels for Trier that showcased their relevant work.

“I really try to show the closest piece of work that could prove why an actor is good for that particular part,” Kaufman explained.

It was during this process that the idea of Fanning came up. “She did such a phenomenal job, and made it look easy,” the casting director said of the actress. “That was a very, very hard part to make believable.”

But Kaufman emphasized that credibility extends beyond any single role. Building a convincing ensemble, she said, is always an undertaking.

“It’s always a challenge putting an ensemble together, because casting is like a recipe. It has to work together. If you miscast one role, it’s going to stand out.

It’s a balance Kaufman has refined over decades, having cast Oscar-winning films such as King Richard, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Brokeback Mountain and Syriana, among others. She also cast the current awards contender Train Dreams, and won a casting Emmy for the hit series Succession.

“When we see a beautiful ensemble on screen, we take it for granted as a viewer, but every piece of energy has to work together,” she explains. “Casting is a funny career, because you’re not trained. It’s an art we just have.”

An art that is honed over the years, without formal academic pathways. “To be honest, it’s taken me a couple of decades to trust my gut, verbally,” Kaufman added.

Haga agreed, describing casting as an intuitive and collaborative process.

“Casting is not always so concrete, and it’s a lot of learning by doing. It’s also believing in the actors you have invited into the room. It becomes a collaboration between me and that actor in that very moment.”

If the casting involves sending a self tape, Kaufman urges actors to avoid over-production, such as adding background music. She encourages keeping the submission simple, clear and direct.

“I’ve gotten self tapes where there’s stuff going on in the back, and I’m like, ‘No!’ Whether that helps you or not, it’s distracting.”

Being off-book is also key.

“Having the lines in your head is better, because it frees you from the worry of trying to find the lines on paper,” she said. “I’ll even say, put the paper down and improvise.”

Key Takeaways

• Casting is an intuitive art shaped by experience, collaboration, and a strong understanding of tone, energy, and storytelling.

• Directors who stay deeply involved in the casting process can help shape performances long before production begins.

• Actors give their strongest auditions when they are prepared, off-book, and focused on truth rather than presentation or production value.