Whether drama or comedy, bringing someone new into a beloved show isn’t an easy task. With a camaraderie between the actors, the pressure is on for casting directors to find someone who will mesh well, both in front of and behind the camera.
Influencer Jake Shane was presented to the “Hacks” team ahead of Season 4. Known for his comedic TikTok videos, he first auditioned for one of the late-night writer roles and was championed by his team. Ultimately, it didn’t work.
“The producers knew him, appreciated his performance and soon after brought him on as Social Media Girlie. The role had originally been written for a woman, but we cast Jake and kept the name. It was too funny not to,” says Linda Lowy, the casting director behind the Emmy-winning HBO series.
Since Shane is a “social media personality in real life,” it really just clicked, she explains. “His online presence, paired with his natural talent for acting, made him a perfect fit for the role of Social Media Girlie. I believe this may have been among his first acting roles, and possibly his television debut.”
But they didn’t just want the casting to be a stunt — it was important it made sense in every aspect of the show.
“If it’s a recurring character, one needs to ensure they can be integrated seamlessly into the show both in tone and in performance,” says Lowy. “If it’s a guest star, they should not only naturally support but also complement the main cast with comparable skill and gravitas.”
On the drama front, “The Morning Show” is used to bringing in new people — often huge stars like Jon Hamm — into the show. In Season 4 of the Apple TV drama, Jeremy Irons joined the cast as Martin Levy, the estranged father of Alex (Jennifer Aniston). The character gave audiences a new peek into how Alex grew up and became the workaholic she is today.
To cast Irons, who has won an Oscar, a Tony and three Emmys, Aniston wrote a personal letter. “When you get a love letter from Jennifer Aniston, you at least open it,” says executive producer Kristin Hahn. “I don’t know that that hurt
our chances!”
Director Mimi Leder added that she was “very surprised” when she spoke to Irons and learned he was a fan of the show. But casting director Victoria Thomas was not surprised: “This cast of actors and great writing — just as a casting director — it makes it really easy to get people to be on the show.”
Aniston’s Alex also got a new love interest this season in Bro, a Joe Rogan-type podcaster played by Boyd Holbrook. He had previously starred in “Narcos” and “The Sandman,” but had an interesting task with this role — both to woo and to disgust Alex Levy at the same time.
“He had a certain masculinity that I think we wanted that fits a different energy for the show,” says Thomas. “He also wasn’t a caricature. We didn’t want to make him out to be some person we could make fun of and make a joke of.”
They were also looking for “an on-air persona who could give Alex a run for her money,” says Hahn. “Game meets game, on terms of on-air charisma, talent and the ability to be relatable.”
For a new show, things are a bit different — especially when one star is the anchor.
In HBO’s drama “Task,” Mark Ruffalo was set to lead as FBI agent Tom Brandis, and he needed someone to chase down. So, casting director Avy Kaufman began by “putting a list of actors together who could work well opposite Mark” to play Robbie Prendergrast — a criminal, but also a family man who’s easy to love.
Kennedy Moyer, Oliver Eisenson and Tom Pelphrey on “Task”
Peter Kramer/HBO
“Robbie needed to have strength along with a fatherly quality as this character was put in an unexpected situation in his life,” she says. “I looked for an actor who could portray a dreamer who has been knocked around, up and down, someone we will ultimately care about and understand.”
She was extremely selective while searching for Robbie, handpicking actors to read for the part. She had previously cast Tom Pelphrey “in a series he did not audition for” — but knew the team at “Task” needed to see him.
“I was outspoken with all good reasons to cast Tom,” Kaufman says. “Tom’s reading showed all that he understood this character in a very smart, sensitive and determined way.”
His self-tape also blew away creator Brad Ingelsby.
“You need a guy that can go into a house and be believable as a thief. You also need a guy that can go home and have a sense of humor. He’s able to lie in bed with his kids and tell them a story. I think that’s a tough thing to do,” he says. “He knows this world and these people in a way that other actors probably don’t. This is a part he felt ownership of from the jump — he came from this part of the world. Tom felt really confident about his understanding of the character, and I let him run with it.”
Plus, post-pandemic Pelphrey had a long beard and straggly hair, something the producers begged him to keep upon seeing him on FaceTime. Ingelsby recalls, “We were like, ‘Oh, my God — that is exactly who Robbie is.’ Tom had a very clear sense of what this character would look like.”