Nobody Wants This became one of Netflix’s breakout comedies thanks to its sharp writing, easy charm and the chemistry between Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. But just as important is the world around them, filled with characters who feel funny, specific and completely lived-in.
In this interview, casting directors Brett Greenstein and Collin Daniel talk about putting that cast together, from why Brody felt like Noah from the start to finding Timothy Simons and Tovah Feldshuh for two of the show’s most memorable roles. They also share advice for actors on self-tapes, demo reels, readers and why understanding the tone of a show can make a big difference. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full conversation in the video below or on our YouTube channel.
It has to feel good to be involved in a show that everybody loves.
Brett Greenstein: It feels so great. I don’t think we’ve ever worked on a show that has, like, hit the zeitgeist in the way that this one did, and that it feels like everybody has watched, and is loving. We couldn’t be more proud of it.
We’ve had such a fun time working on it, we love this cast, we love our producers, and, yeah, super, super proud of it.
With the first season being such a big hit, as you were working on Season 2, and now Season 3, is there pressure on you guys to kind of ramp it up?
Collin Daniel: In Season 2, we had some bigger guest stars, you know, Seth Rogen, Kate Berlin, Leighton Meister… so people definitely all of a sudden started reaching out, being like, “we want to be on the show.” Which was a big difference from Season 1, when no one knew what it was yet, because we were making it all before it even aired.
For Season 3, you guys brought in Andrew Rannells, which I mean, come on.
Collin Daniel: Yeah, we have Andrew Rannells, Sarah Silverman. We’ve got a bunch of great guest stars in Season 3 coming up.
This show is all about the chemistry between everybody. Everyone just works so well together. What was the hardest role to cast?
Collin Daniel: The series regular is probably Tim Simon’s role is the one we looked for the longest. I think he was the last one cast.
But we were lucky we had Adam, and then once Adam was on board, he was able to read with guys to play his brother, and Kristen read with all the girls to play her sister, so we were able to see that chemistry right from the get-go, which is a luxury you don’t always have in casting, so it was nice to be able to have that extra step.
Why was he the last one?
Brett Greenstein: There’s always that one role that not everybody’s in agreement on, or they see it in a different way. We have a lot of producers, there’s a whole studio, and is Netflix involved, so just everybody had different visions.
And this just is how it is in casting, you go through rounds and rounds, and keep trying people, until it sort of clicks. So, it wasn’t that it was a difficult part, we just saw a lot of guys.
Collin Daniel: Yeah, once Tim’s name came into the conversation, he was game right away to read with Adam, so that was great that we had that luxury of being able to actually see it.
And he wasn’t offer-only, so we could do a special read, and see the chemistry.
Who is the easiest?
Brett Greenstein: Probably Adam in a way, just because he was talked about from the beginning, and Kristen already had a relationship with him. She said to the producers, “You guys, the role is Adam Brody, I mean, he is Noah.”
But because they hired us to do our due diligence, we auditioned a lot of guys and tried a lot of different people, but in the back of our collective minds, we all knew it was probably going to be Adam, we just had to go through the process for a little bit.
I want to ask you about Tova Feldshuh. Man. she comes on screen, and she just destroys everything in the best way possible. She kills every time she’s on screen. How did she get involved?
Collin Daniel: She auditioned just like everybody else, and she was really passionate. I think she even wrote an email along with her audition, or she might have done it in her slate, even.
Brett Greenstein: Yeah, she gave us lots of options in terms of, like, I see this character with this accent, or I could see her in this way, and she was very, amenable to trying different things. She’s a legend, and we were just so excited that she went through the process.
Collin Daniel: She really fought for the role and wanted it, and producers were like, “Oh my god. This is it. We’re done.”
Brett Greenstein: She’s so formidable as an actress, and Bina is a character you just don’t mess with, and when she made it come to life, it was just so exciting to see, because she just nails it. She’s such a joy to watch.
When she comes on screen, everything about her face, her movement and mannerisms, I’m afraid just watching her.
Brett Greenstein: Right, and she’s so tiny, which is the funny thing. She’s a powerhouse in such a small frame, which makes it even funnier.
When you guys are watching things, just like in your normal life, are you still constantly working? Like jotting actors down in your memory?
Collin Daniel: Constantly.
Is that one of the hazards of working in casting?
Collin Daniel: It is, but we’re just so used to it now. I mean, I always have my phone with me to pull up IMDB when I’m watching a show to look someone up.
Brett Greenstein: I love it because I’m always so impressed with what other casting directors are putting together. We watch something like The Pitt, and we’re just like, “Oh my god, all these new faces, this is incredible.” That they found all these people who basically haven’t done much television before, and are now series regulars, that’s the stuff we love to see. When new faces come on television, especially when it becomes a juggernaut show like that, it’s super cool to see. So, we are always watching for new faces.
And like Colin just said, pulling out IMDb and seeing, like, “Oh, where’s this guy? Who represents him? Where’s he from? Oh, he’s British. Okay, wow, his accent’s amazing. Never would have guessed it.” Yeah, I love it.
Speaking of new faces, how are you finding new actors?
Collin Daniel: The great thing about how the industry has kind of changed is self-tapes for actors. We can see so many more actors that we never would have been able to see before if we were in the room, with the time and the day so, we can put out such a wider search. If we see someone funny on Instagram, we can be like, “Oh, let’s try them for the waiter.” Before, we wouldn’t have that luxury.
You can really be anywhere right now in the world and still auditioning. And that’s the great thing about the way the industry has changed. For us, it’s given us the luxury of meeting so many new actors that we never would have been able to meet before.
Brett Greenstein: And with the advent of social media, we are just stumbling upon people randomly on TikTok or Instagram or what have you, and just like, “Oh, wow.” People are doing their own thing, doing their own comedy bits, creating their own material, and that’s such a fun way to discover a fresh face.
Sometimes they aren’t trained or don’t have experience as an actor, and sometimes it doesn’t work, but sometimes it does, and that’s awesome when we can find somebody who’s totally fresh and sort of outside of the box.
You guys have been working together for a while now. I’m sure you agree on a ton of things, but has there ever been a moment when you guys both watch an audition or self-tape, and one of you likes them, and the other doesn’t?
Brett Greenstein: Oh, all the time.
Collin Daniel: We do everything together, and we constantly are like, “What do you think? What do you think?” And then the ones we disagree on, we’ll kind of mark as a different number and go back to later on. Once we’ve seen some more auditions, we’re able to get on the same page once we have some more context.
But sometimes our initial responses are different but that’s what I love about having a partner. You can bounce these ideas off each other about what works, why it doesn’t work, that kind of thing.
Brett Greenstein: It’s great to have a sounding board and somebody to sort of brainstorm with. Sometimes I just don’t see it the way he sees it, and I love being proven wrong.
And then, it’s also like, “Well, let’s just send them to the producers and see what they think,” and sometimes they pick the one that we were on the fence about, and it just kind of validates things.
Collin Daniel: It’s very subjective.
What do you want to see from actors when they’re auditioning for you, especially on a self-tape? What makes a self-tape stand out? I know when I do one, and I hit send, there’s always these lingering questions. When I used to go in for auditions, a lot of the time there would be redirects, you know?
Collin Daniel: Right. I think the actor needs to go with their gut of what feels the most right to them, because that’s really all you can go off of on a self-tape.
And knowing the tone of the show, doing a little bit of homework can help an actor.
We’re really good about getting a tape, and if we see something in the tape being like, “Oh, they made a great, great choice there. It’s probably not what the writers are going for, but it’s worth a redirect.” We’ll have them re-tape, or we’ll Zoom with them later in the day to get that performance kind of fine-tuned.
Brett Greenstein: The other thing is just the basics, like making sure you have good lighting, making sure you have good sound, making sure you have a decent reader who can keep up with you and keep the scene moving. Nothing is worse than when an actor’s trying so hard to get through their scene, and their reader is, like, giving them nothing.
Collin Daniel: You know, one of those apps where you have a computerized voice reading and it really just drags the scene down.
Brett Greenstein: But yeah, again having good lighting, good sound, making sure the slate has what city you live in, what your height is, maybe a full body shot. Those kind of things are what we need.
And then, like Colin said, just making choices, and also knowing exactly what you’re auditioning for. Like, is this a single camera? Is this a multi-camera? If it’s single, maybe there’s a little bit more wiggle room to put a button on it, or improv a little bit, or be a little loose.
Where if it’s a multi-camera show, you have to get those words exactly in an order in which they are written, because you’re setting up a joke. It’s all a formula.
So you have to be smart about what it is that you’re auditioning for and making the right choices.
Do you guys watch a lot of demo reels?
Collin Daniel: A lot of demo reels.
What are you looking for with those?
Collin Daniel: It just gives us, I think, a better sense of who the actor is if we don’t know them. We’re not sticklers on if it’s something professional, is it something they self-shot? It just gives a little more intel on who this person is, and are they right for the role in our mind?
Brett Greenstein: We want to see you on camera, we want to see how you work in front of the camera, how you work with other actors. Sometimes a headshot can be deceiving. You may not be as tall as we had imagined. You think of somebody’s physicality just based on a headshot, and then you see them on film, like, “Okay, that wasn’t what I imagined, but whatever.”
Especially for comedy, we just like to see kind of various stuff, especially funny stuff.
What’s the craziest audition that you’ve either seen or been involved with? Colin, I’ve auditioned for you a couple times, so please don’t mention anything about me.
Collin Daniel: Okay. Mine goes back to when I was a casting assistant and we were doing a pilot, I believe for CBS. I was working for Jeff Greenberg at the time, and we were auditioning actors for the lead, and David Hasselhoff came in. And I was his reader, and was playing one of his children, and he proceeded to put his arms around me and do the entire scene hugging me. So, I have my sides above him, trying to read, and we’re both very tall, and he did not let go of me the entire scene. It was one of the most uncomfortable moments I’ve ever had in an audition.
Brett Greenstein: That is so funny. I’ve never heard that story. I don’t think I have any crazy, crazy casting stories that stick out in my mind.
Over the years we’ve worked on so many shows, and just seeing legends come in the room, or people who we were big fans of when we were kids.
Collin Daniel: Just actors that we grew up watching, and we’re like, “Oh my god, they’re right in front of us, auditioning for us.”
Brett Greenstein: Yeah, that’s super exciting and super cool, and, like, the 10-year-old in me would never have believed this is what I’m doing for a living now, and then I get to be in a room with whoever it is that is.
