Casting directors Jessica Kelly (Euphoria, Y2K) and Lisa Parasyn (Schitt’s Creek, Lost Girl) know a thing or two about finding the right actor for a role, and in the new Prime Video comedy series Overcompensating, they had their work cut out for them. With hundreds of roles to fill and thousands of submissions to sift through, they worked closely with series creator and star Benito Skinner to bring the show’s unique tone and offbeat characters to life.
In this interview, the casting duo discusses their collaborative process, what makes an actor stand out in an audition, the challenges of casting cameos in a first-season series, and their best tips for self-tapes. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. For the full interview, watch the video above or check out our YouTube page.
The cast is perfect. It reminded me of Freaks and Geeks in a way.
Jessica Kelly: Thank you. Yeah, finally, I got to see it yesterday. It was fabulous. It exceeded even expectations that were already high.
Besides Benito Skinner, was anybody else attached prior to you guys coming on? I would assume Mary Beth Barone, because they’re podcast partners.
Jessica Kelly: No, it was just Benny. I mean, he always wrote it with Mary Beth in mind, but I think everybody with a new show just wants to make sure that every itch has been scratched, but we all knew it was going to be her because it was written for her.
How Benito Skinner Helped Shape the Casting of Overcompensating
Was he involved in any of the casting?
Jessica Kelly: Benny was at every [audition] and read with all the actors. Once I handed over the baton, Lisa took over on the rest of the casting.
Lisa Parasyn: He was so fantastic and everybody loved him. I mean, when they found out they were going to read with him, they were jumping for joy. They were so happy and he was so gracious and kind to every single actor. If they had one line or if they had 30 lines, he was just so kind.
Jessica Kelly: All of that extended throughout the shoot. I think that is such a good thing for actors to learn off of. Like, you don’t have to be a diva to be number one on the call sheet. Like he’s creating it, he’s writing, he’s producing, he’s making sure everything’s there and can do it with such a great spirit. It’s only going to attract the best things.
Lisa Parasyn: He had a lot on his plate and he really just made time for everybody. It was really nice. Very special, I think.
I know if I had come in and read and found out he was reading with me, my mind would be blown.
Lisa Parasyn: They were. They really were.
I cast, I think upwards of a hundred people. Jess cast all the movie stars, which are so many, it really reads like a who’s who when you look at the cast list. It’s so impressive. I was fangirling. There’s a lot of cameos that come in as well throughout the series.
Didi Conn. Every time I see her pop up, I immediately smile. She’s just fantastic.
Jessica Kelly: She’s so cute, isn’t she?
When an Actor Brings a Character to Life in an Unexpected Way
Did any of the actors who you auditioned come in with a different take on the character that you never thought of? To the point where you couldn’t imagine anybody else playing that person?
Jessica Kelly: It’s more when somebody switched it into a different tone. I think a lot of people when reading was like, “Oh, comedy,” and it was without a lot of truth. And the ones that didn’t feel like they had to pump up that part, either it worked amazingly or it didn’t work at all. It has this fine line of truth and humor and unique way of using words or thoughts.
What about Holmes? She is hilarious.
Jessica Kelly: So good. Oh my God. Every line, every scene was always different because she would just throw things in there and we would just die. It was the best casting process because she just creates so much. And she read for a lot of parts. We were just like, ‘she has to be in the show.’
Her line readings are sometimes so unexpected, but so just brilliant.
Jessica Kelly: It’s brilliant. And I feel like she was able to keep it fresh each time, because when we have to call back people so much, there’s a moment where you’re sick of hearing the same scenes over and over and every time it was really real to her. I have no idea how her mind works that fast comedically.
How the Casting Process Begins: From Script to Audition
How do you guys even begin to cast a new show? I feel like somebody gives this big box full of different puzzle pieces and you guys have to find the right pieces to go together.
Lisa Parasyn: It always begins with the script. You read the script and you start envisioning people and usually the people that I envisioned in the beginning are never the ones that end up getting the part.
Then when you start to audition and you hear the lines being read and what everybody brings to it that’s different and you watch a couple of thousand reads of the same part, you really start to get a handle on what’s funny and what isn’t.
And comedy is so hard, it’s so subjective. So, you really have to read so many people to really get the perfect person there.
Jessica Kelly: I had about 6,000 to 8,000 submissions for one role. It really took like two weeks to just go through the submissions because it’s so rare to have the opportunity that you don’t have to cast names. And so, in that, you want to make sure you do the due diligence of looking everywhere. It’s kind of amazing the amount of people we saw, and it was really only a couple really special people that were the part.
Lisa Parasyn: But if you don’t take a chance and read all those people, you’ll never find that one and that’s really what it takes, it’s just combing through. I didn’t know you had thousands, that’s scary.
Jessica Kelly: It was really the craziest amount of submissions I’d ever seen. It was fresh off of the strike and also it was young and hip and Benny and A24. I was just totally bombarded.
Why Many Actors Make the Same Audition Choices
Of those thousands of submissions, what’s the percentage of actors doing the audition scene the same way, doing almost the same line readings? Were you seeing the same sort of thing over and over and then it’s that one person or one group of people who just did something totally different?
Jessica Kelly: Yes, and it makes sense to me. I mean, I probably would have read it the way that a lot of people read it because it’s so scary to self-tape these days and you’re trying to get whatever information you can. Nothing was held against anybody that did it in this way that was more traditional. If you could tell that they were unique and had humor, it’s a very easy fix. So, we didn’t hold it against them. If you could never penetrate through the wall of like big comedy without heart, it just wasn’t going to be the show.
The trick for hiring series regulars is that you have to live through them. You have to know who they are on the inside just as much as the outside.
Lisa Parasyn: And you want them in your home every day. You have to accept them into your home, so you really have to like them.
What Makes an Actor Memorable, Even If They Don’t Book the Role
What makes an actor memorable to you even if they’re not right for the part that they just auditioned for?
Lisa Parasyn: Like Jess was saying, we see thousands of people read the same lines and most of them will do it the same way, but there will always be somebody or five or six people who stand out and do it just differently. They just have their own style. They have their own special-ness, their own sparkle. And it just makes you say, ‘wow.’
I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing or if it’s just something different that sparks your attention after all those reads, but some people just bring it and it’s the part belongs to them, and you just know it the second you see it. It’s that undefinable quality, I think.
Jessica Kelly: I think people that naturally have empathy for other people, you can sort of feel that they go into what’s this person really going through and kind of abandon their own ego. That’s sort of, “Look at me, I’m so funny. I’m so good at acting,” is what I don’t love. I love having to go forward and be like, ‘what’s happening here? Who is this person?’ That’s definitely the kind of actors that I like. They can be very, very simple and not do very much and I know that there’s a lot going on.
Their Top Self-Tape Tips
For self-tapes, what’s a good nugget of information or advice that you would like to get out there?
Lisa Parasyn: Mine is just know your lines. Please know your lines because I just can’t stand when I watch a self-tape and somebody is struggling for their lines and they don’t remember them and then they grab their paper and like you have one shot to send in that tape and you can do it a hundred times at home. Just make sure your stuff.
Jessica Kelly: I’d say the beginning is really the most important thing. The first couple of words. So, giving yourself at least like one moment before and then making sure that the first part is alive. If there’s a deadness of the lines coming out and then you build from there, there’s just something about it being like, ‘oh, this person is in that moment.’
Lisa Parasyn: Yeah, I think that’s great. Your first impression is very meaningful.
Want even more insights from Jessica Kelly and Lisa Parasyn? Be sure to watch the full interview on our YouTube channel and check out more great casting and acting interviews right here on Daily Actor.
