Finnian Tweed Talks Striking it Out on His Own, Working With Sophie Holland and John Papsidera

January 24, 2025 | Neil Turitz
Photo by Max Bandicoot, courtesy of Finnian Tweed.

Finnian Tweed’s story is not unusual in the casting world. A former actor who realized he didn’t want to act and eventually found his way to casting. He then climbed the ladder, learning under others before finally spreading his wings and went off on his own. It’s a tale well told in this business, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything standard about him.

Tweed is a rising star in the casting world. In December, the movie Mary, about the mother of Jesus, set Netflix on fire. Having one big hit is impressive enough, but then came the highly anticipated sequel, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, starring Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr., and in March, the new Jason Statham film, A Working Man, directed by David Ayer, hits screens.

Tweed isn’t just one of England’s hottest casting directors, he’s also extending his reach to American shores. He spoke to us from London.


Insights: Lessons From Finnian Tweed

  • Ensure high-quality self-tapes; be off-book and well-rehearsed.
  • Use IMDb Pro to understand the work of the casting team and be punctual for auditions.
  • Offer unique interpretations and remain open to direction; show your true self, not just the character, in auditions.

How did you get into casting?

I originally trained as an actor, went to drama school and discovered that, firstly, I wasn’t very good, and secondly, didn’t have the patience to be an actor, but didn’t want to leave the industry.

I always had this idea that if acting didn’t work out, I’d either go into casting or be an agent. I did a bit of agenting for a couple of years and then discovered that my creative juices weren’t being fully satisfied in that world.

What was it about agenting that was not working for you?

I think it was a couple of things. I was probably in the wrong agency. I was in a medium-sized boutique agency, and I was hungry. I wanted more opportunities.

I think also about the nature of the work, I realized that when you’re an agent, most of the time you’re dealing with your clients, you’re dealing with casting directors, maybe producers. But when you’re a casting director, you’re trying to get the cake to bake right. You’re hosting a party, but then you’re leaving before midnight.

That’s a fantastic analogy.

There are a lot of challenges in casting that are completely unseen and I think rather underappreciated. I think it required more of my brain than being an agent did, and I think that’s why I enjoy it. Also, if you’re working, and you’re lucky, you get to work on a whole variety of projects, and you’re not just stuck on deals and contracts.

The responsibility to your clients is enormous. Agents may wield great power, but casting directors wield great influence. It’s about creating opportunities for actors. It’s about knowing when the time is right for an actor to play a particular role and when it’s not, and being sensitive to that. And, you know, having that memory for that guy we auditioned five years ago who would be perfect for this role.

How’d you end up pursuing this career change?

I went through a very traditional British route of climbing. A very slippery pole, being an assistant in multiple offices with some of the biggest casting directors in the UK.

I did a couple of years in-house at the BBC and realized I was at risk of getting stuck if I stayed there. I took the leap back into the freelance casting world and, very quickly, I got very lucky and got an opportunity with Sophie Holland, who had a massive project, The Witcher. I came in as Sophie’s associate and we had an amazing couple of years. We did two seasons of that, a couple of pilots, and a couple of really exciting movies. She knew that by the time I joined her, I was sort of itching to start casting my own things. She was very generous about letting me do that.

What led to you finally going out on your own?

Coming up to the pandemic, I’d been out there working with other people for about nine years, and I started thinking, “I’ve got to bite the bullet and go on my own.”

Since 2020, that crazy year, I’ve been extraordinarily lucky. It’s mostly been American projects that I work on. John Papsidera has very generously handed me movies that are shooting in the UK and the EU that need a UK-based casting director.

The thing about film that I love is, you have three or four very intense months, and then it’s done. The downside to that is, of course, if you’re having fun and it’s going well, three or four months goes incredibly quickly, and then you want another one, it’s addictive.

Working for a lot of different casting directors, did you pick up dos and don’ts for how you wanted to run your own business?

Absolutely, and to be honest, I think I do it unconsciously. I don’t think I’ve necessarily got a Bible somewhere written down with all the things that I do from this office and don’t do from that office.

I think one thing is, I had to sing for my supper. Opportunities were not given to me easily. I had to fight for things. I’d like to think in some ways, the benefit of it taking longer for me is that I was able to expand my knowledge of actors. I saw more, I absorbed more TV and film. I wasn’t in so much of a hurry.

I think it’s a very unconscious process because ultimately, casting is an art form. You develop your tastes over time without even realizing it’s happening. I think a good casting director is somebody who is constantly checking their decisions about things. Your work is never done. You always have to assume that another stone could be unturned.

I’m curious about the challenges of casting a sequel, like, say, Den of Thieves: Pantera, where you have returning stars. Is that more or less complicated?

That was the most amazing movie to cast. Gerry came back, O’Shea came back, all the American leads, either the deals were done, or John Papsidera handled those. This is where working with John has been a massive career break for me because he trusts me. He hands me the script, and in the end, it was something like 35 roles that I headed up out of the UK and the EU.

[Director] Christian [Gudegast] is no-holds-barred, he says exactly what he wants. I think his phrase was, “I want to mine Europe. Let’s go into the Eastern Bloc. Let’s go into France, Italy, Germany.” When I worked on The Witcher, we did loads of searches in the EU, so I have quite a lot of those contacts with those tiny agencies that you’ve never heard of who have amazing actors with chiseled faces and interesting accents, can speak six languages, and are living in the back end of nowhere, which you’re only going to find if you know who that who where they are.

That leads me to another question. The idea of “mining Europe,” you’re doing a lot of auditions, do you find that there are common mistakes that people make in auditions?

Pre-pandemic, a self tape in the UK always felt like a bit of an afterthought. I would rarely hire an actor off a self tape, mostly because it was badly shot, on book and not very well lit. Then actors had to get their act together — quite literally — get the equipment, and get good at doing self tapes.

If you’re not off-book, it’s just so difficult to vet you, because if you’re looking down, the first thing the director thinks is, “oh, he didn’t bother to learn the lines and he’s not invested enough in this.” Also, just from a very filmic point of view, we can’t see your eyes. It’s very hard for us to get a sense of your take on the character. Another is, if we send you the script, read it. And don’t be late. (Laughs)

With all that in mind, what advice or piece of wisdom would you give to somebody coming in to audition for you?

Gosh, I would say come in with fresh ideas and don’t be afraid to express your opinion and your views on the character or the script. Be open to direction. Always, always, always, always know who you’re meeting.

A great resource for you as an actor, in my humble opinion, is IMDb Pro. It’s worth every cent, because if you come into a room and you’ve researched that producer, that director, that casting director and you know the titles that they’ve worked on, then you are in such a strong position. Sometimes actors do that thing where they go to shake your hand, and they go, “sorry, your name is?” You should know who you’re meeting.

Also, be yourself. I want to meet the person first, and then we can get into the character. I’m not into actors coming in in character. I’d rather meet you, then we can get into the work, right?

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