The interviewee for this installment of Get to Know the Casting Director cast one of this year’s Best Picture nominees, Jojo Rabbit. Des Hamilton is known for a number of titles, such as The King, Melancholia and High Life. The busy casting director has many upcoming projects, as well, like Claire Denis’ The Stars at Noon and Top Boy for Netflix. Keep reading for a window into the casting director behind the credits.
When was the moment that you knew that casting was for you?
I always knew that I wanted to work in film. Along the way, I met Lynne Ramsay, and she asked me to help her find some actors for Morvern Callar. Halfway through the process, I realized that I just felt great about what I was doing on a daily basis. I was excited about going into work to read and improvise with actors, so I suppose that’s when I realized it’s what I wanted to do. And it was the first film I worked on, back in 2001.
If a film was made about Des Hamilton Casting, which actor would your colleagues cast to play you?
Because of my insufferable use of bad language, I think that film would be barred from distribution on a global level. And if it were distributed, I don’t think it would do very well. That film would go straight to DVD. I can’t say whom they would cast, but I imagine they would have a lot of fun writing the “character description.”
You won an Artios Award this year for casting Jojo Rabbit. How did it feel to be selected for this honor by your peers?
I was very flattered to be there and to be nominated in the first place. On a personal level, it was hard to receive the accolade without my four colleagues (Elan Jones, Jo Harris, Sophie Pearson, and Georgia Topley) because they worked as hard on it as I did. It was quite a demanding search, but we loved working with Taika [Waititi] and his producers Chelsea [Winstanley] and Carthew [Neal]. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to thank my colleagues when I received the award, though, and I truly value that ceremony. I think it’s great when casting directors are recognized for the hard work they’ve done.
Are there any fun idiosyncrasies about your office?
We once rescued a dog together. It was a Labrador we found when we were doing a job down in Tunis, Tunisia, and he hadn’t been treated very well. We arranged to get him over here, and we all agreed to share responsibility for him. You know, he lived with me for some periods and then with others. But he loved my main colleague, Elan, the most. We ultimately realized that he needed the routine of being with a regular family, though, not a loving but dysfunctional one like us. We were fortunate that it ended happily because he loves his life and the family he’s with now. And his name is Bobby.
Considering their teamwork in both casting and in the successful rescue and rehoming of a mistreated dog, it may come as no surprise that the members of Des Hamilton Casting are a tight knit group. And there seems to be some sharp wits about the office. When referencing his colleagues, Hamilton adds, “Our WhatsApp group is called ‘The Smiling Moons Over My Gradual Demise.’ That’s how I think of them.” The casting director and his colleagues prove that success does not have to come at the expense of camaraderie.
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