The House We Built
Charlotte
Project Details
LOGLINE On August 14, 1862, Abraham Lincoln summoned five free Black leaders of Washington, D.C. to the White House to pitch them on leaving the country their people had built. What history remembers as a meeting between powerful men was, in truth, shaped by a woman no one in the room believed had any power at all. ABOUT THE PROJECT THE HOUSE WE BUILT dramatizes a real 1862 White House meeting in which Lincoln pressed a delegation of free Black Washingtonians to support his colonization scheme for Chiriquí, Panama. The story is told through the eyes of Niecy Walker, a fictional domestic worker whose quiet, uncredited influence steers the outcome the history books attribute entirely to the men in the room. We are seeking a talented, committed non-union cast for a tightly written, character-driven period piece.
Roles For This Project
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Short Film
White House Staff
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Man, Woman
Charlotte
21 - 60
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Any gender; 18 to 65 years old; African, Black, Indigenous, Mixed Ethnicity, West Indies/Caribbean, White. BACKGROUND / DAY PLAYERS White House staff and period background, various ages and backgrounds. Non-speaking or minimal lines.
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Short Film
Clark
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
50 - 60
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 50 to 60 years old; African, Black. CORNELIUS CLARK — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 50s–60s. Plump, Strong-willed but tired, he's the sobering wise voice in the room but grows impatient with the pompe and circumstance of it all.
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Short Film
Caleb Smith
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
40 - 50
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 40 to 50 years old; White. CALEB SMITH — SUPPORTING/ANTAGONIST — $125/day White man, 50s. Secretary of the Interior. Lincoln's right hand man. Paternalistic, deniable menace; an ass kisser with a job to do. Should read as cordial right up to the moment he isn't.
-
Short Film
Mccoy
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
30 - 50
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 30 to 50 years old; African, Black. ALEXANDER MCCOY — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 30s–50s. Church founder and educator. Devout, deliberate, speaks rarely but with authority when he does. Snide, a little vain, sarcastic.
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Short Film
John Cook
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
20 - 30
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 20 to 30 years old; African, Black. JOHN COOK JR. — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, late 20s–30s. Educated at Oberlin, now running his late father's school. Sharp, articulate, a touch impatient. Skeptical of the offer on principle.
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Short Film
Seward
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
50 - 60
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 50 to 60 years old; White. WILLIAM SEWARD — SUPPORTING/FEATURED — $125/day White man, 60s. Secretary of State. Overheard in a key conversation with Pomeroy; dry, political, calculating, sneaky.
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Short Film
Thomas
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
35 - 50
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 35 to 50 years old; African, Black. EDWARD THOMAS — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 40s–50s. Delegation chair, House of Representatives messenger, collector, intellectual. Likes being in charge but can't quite hold a room together. He delivers a full, persuasive pitch before the room turns on ... [See More]
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Short Film
Pomeroy
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
40 - 50
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 40 to 50 years old; White. SAMUEL POMEROY — SUPPORTING/FEATURED — $125/day White man, mid-40s. Senator, colonization's chief evangelist. Genuinely believes in this project, which makes him more dangerous, not less. Passionate, pompous and calculating.
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Short Film
Abrahama Lincoln
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
45 - 55
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 45 to 55 years old; White. ABRAHAM LINCOLN — SUPPORTING — $125/day White man, 50s. Persuasive, folksy, condescending in ways he doesn't fully register. Not a caricature... plays the scene believing he is being generous but, is a little aloof.
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Short Film
Costin
$125/day
Man
Charlotte
30 - 40
Non Union
Short Film
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 30 to 40 years old; African, Black. JOHN T. COSTIN — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 30s–40s. From a prominent Washington family, Freemason. Measured, dignified, protective of the delegation's standing. A bit of a clean freak.
Similar Roles
Roles For This Project
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Any gender; 18 to 65 years old; African, Black, Indigenous, Mixed Ethnicity, West Indies/Caribbean, White. BACKGROUND / DAY PLAYERS White House staff and period background, various ages and backgrounds. Non-speaking or minimal lines.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 50 to 60 years old; African, Black. CORNELIUS CLARK — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 50s–60s. Plump, Strong-willed but tired, he's the sobering wise voice in the room but grows impatient with the pompe and circumstance of it all.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 40 to 50 years old; White. CALEB SMITH — SUPPORTING/ANTAGONIST — $125/day White man, 50s. Secretary of the Interior. Lincoln's right hand man. Paternalistic, deniable menace; an ass kisser with a job to do. Should read as cordial right up to the moment he isn't.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 30 to 50 years old; African, Black. ALEXANDER MCCOY — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 30s–50s. Church founder and educator. Devout, deliberate, speaks rarely but with authority when he does. Snide, a little vain, sarcastic.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 20 to 30 years old; African, Black. JOHN COOK JR. — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, late 20s–30s. Educated at Oberlin, now running his late father's school. Sharp, articulate, a touch impatient. Skeptical of the offer on principle.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 35 to 50 years old; African, Black. EDWARD THOMAS — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 40s–50s. Delegation chair, House of Representatives messenger, collector, intellectual. Likes being in charge but can't quite hold a room together. He delivers a full, persuasive pitch before the room turns on ... [See More]
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 40 to 50 years old; White. SAMUEL POMEROY — SUPPORTING/FEATURED — $125/day White man, mid-40s. Senator, colonization's chief evangelist. Genuinely believes in this project, which makes him more dangerous, not less. Passionate, pompous and calculating.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 45 to 55 years old; White. ABRAHAM LINCOLN — SUPPORTING — $125/day White man, 50s. Persuasive, folksy, condescending in ways he doesn't fully register. Not a caricature... plays the scene believing he is being generous but, is a little aloof.
-
Submissions Due:
08/29/2026
Man; 30 to 40 years old; African, Black. JOHN T. COSTIN — SUPPORTING — $125/day Black man, 30s–40s. From a prominent Washington family, Freemason. Measured, dignified, protective of the delegation's standing. A bit of a clean freak.