We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Arlie Day. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Arlie below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Arlie with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I grew up in the Midwest, where people tend to have a high work ethic in general. When I was young, I looked forward to getting a job and having my own money. My parents really supported me in that. They came from very little and their parents came from even less, so it was a bit generational and I was determined to break the cycle. The day I turned 14 (the legal age to work where I grew up), I applied and got a job at a restaurant at the local mall slingin’ shakes and burgers. I was a hostess and I loved it. Between the people I worked with, and the customers that came in, I met so many interesting people. When I turned 16, I started serving tables, at at age 18, I bartended at various restaurants and bars around town. I made decent money and was able to get myself through college. I grew up with that strong work ethic and that’s continued on into my adulthood.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a Casting Director in Los Angeles. My casting partner and I own Day & Page Casting, which focuses on film and television. I’ve been working in casting for over 20 years, pretty much right out of college. I spent the first decade strictly working on tv then shifted to film and fell in love with it. We’re still casting a good amount of television and love it but I do have a real passion for film.
The most exciting part of casting, I think is how creative it is and how each day looks so different. There’s really no monotony to it. We typically start with a search for the lead/s of the project, which often involves creating lists of “name” talent and making straight offers to those actors. Once the lead is cast, that’s when we focus on the supporting roles, which is where we often get into auditioning actors. It’s really fun to discover talent that hasn’t broken out yet and then to watch their careers flourish.
Putting the puzzle pieces together and creating a talented ensemble can be really gratifying. However, casting can be a pretty stressful job depending on how high the stakes are. When working with studios especially, there’s a lot on the line so you have to get it right. There are often a lot of “cooks in the kitchen”, and since casting is so subjective, there are often differing opinions, so our job is to try to get everyone on the same page. Casting as a career is so niche, it’s hard to really comprehend the ins and outs of casting without walking in our shoes for a bit.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I do think becoming a good Casting Director is a skill that improves over time. I look back at my assistant days and as much as I would love to say I always had an eye for talent, well, I did not. It took many MANY hours in the room auditioning actors to finesse the talent.
I think what helped me along the way was my determination and will. I just really wanted it. I wanted to work in casting and I wanted to become a Casting Director.
Aside from determination, I also believe that my willingness to be vulnerable and accept help was invaluable. I was fortunate enough to have some absolutely incredible mentors along my path and I thank my lucky stars for each and every one of them. Without the kindness from others who were here before me, I never would have been able to hack it in the entertainment industry.
Lastly, the area of knowledge that has been most impactful along my journey is people skills. My family and I moved around a ton when I was growing up. Between that and being an only child, I really had to put myself out there to meet people and make friends. As frustrating as it was at times, I just rolled with it and mostly learned to enjoy it. It helped me to become a chameleon of sorts. I like to think of myself at this age and stage in my life as a salt of the earth type person so there aren’t many folks that I don’t get along with. It definitely helps in this career because we are constantly meeting new people on both the producer/director/studio/network side and also on the actor/agent/manager side of things. We are always talking.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
As I mentioned earlier, I have been so fortunate to have wonderful mentors throughout my career.
My very first boss in casting was a woman named Damona Resnick who was so kind, and so patient with me. I was bright eyed and bushy tailed fresh off the boat from Minnesota when she took me under her wing and showed me the ins and outs of casting. She helped me finesse my resume and connected me to CSA (Casting Society of America) where I was able to interview for my first television pilot. She coached me for my interview and I got the gig!
That first pilot was a show for ABC called “Brothers & Sisters”, which was cast by Jeanie Bacharach and Gillian O’Neill. They were the dream bosses. So fun, funny, also very patient with me and damn good at their job. The pilot got picked up and ran for five seasons so for about six years, the three of us worked together on that show as well as many other pilots and series. We had an absolute blast working together. They really had their priorities straight and treated everyone with kindness and respect. I think who you start out working for (especially in the entertainment industry) really matters. I’m forever grateful to them.
Next I worked with Casting Director Jennifer Cooper. To say she is awesome is an absolute understatement. She had the most incredible associate (Lindsay Jameyson) who I really hit it off with as well. I think my cheeks still hurt from laughing with them for the several years we worked together. Jenn was really unique because there was zero ego to her and she wasn’t threatened by others in her field. When work came in that she didn’t have the bandwidth to take on, she was kind enough to pass the project along to me. She single-handedly launched my film career because of it. Many of the projects I cast today, I can trace back to one of those jobs that she sent my way. I am forever indebted to her.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arliedaycasting
Image Credits
Hubert Vestil
