PRE-PRODUCTION: Initial Casting Ideas & Selection

To be able to cast the characters in this series production, I began by looking at each character individually and choosing the features that I wanted to accentuate and look for in a potential cast member. I found researching for the right candidates quite challenging as often you'll find an actor that looks like the character but their work may not reflect what I am looking for. For each of the cast selections, I have researched their background of work as well as carefully analysing their physical characteristics and the character types they usually go for to assess their suitability.

The character of the Mother is the leading character and main protagonist in the series. I took to casting her role first for the production, as her character is the priority. When looking for this character, I thought about her character profile in terms of appearance first. She needed to be tall with dark hair and preferably dark eyes. She also had to be within 24 and 30 years of age to be suitable for the role. In terms of acting style, I wanted to find an Actress with a broad history of work, as well as a an emphasis on Television roles to access her viability. Below I have listed some of the potential casting choices for Vivian.

• Phoebe Tonkin - 'The Originals', 'The Vampire Diaries' 

• Leighton Meester - 'Gossip Girl'

• Krysten Ritter - 'Jessica Jones' 

• Sarah Paulson - 'American Horror Story' 

• Kat Dennings - '2 Broke Girls'

• Lauren Cohan - 'The Walking Dead'

Phoebe Tonkin: Vivian Nicholls (Mother)

Phoebe Tonkin was born 12th July 1989 (Now 28 years old) and is an Australian Actress and Model. She has worked predominately in Television and is most known for her work in series including The Vampire Diaries and its spin off The Originals. However, other works include the series The Secret Circle and the new 4 part drama entitled Safe Harbour soon due for release.

Filmography:
Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
The Ever After (2014)
Cul-de-sac (2016)

Home and Away (2010)
The Secret Circle (2011-12)
The Vampire Diaries (2012-13)
The Originals (2013-Present)
Safe Harbour (2018)

Phoebe Tonkin

Her physical appearance includes dark hair and dark piercing eyes. She also has a tall, slender frame and has the ideal physical characteristics for Vivian. Her current age is right in between the two time frames and makes her suitable to play Vivian at the beginning of the series and in the latter half. 

I have decided to cast her as the Mother character Vivian Nicholls, due to her physical characteristics but also due to her previous work. She has worked largely in Television which means that she is most likely to be interested in working on the project. 

She has also worked on some diverse projects, giving me confidence in her acting ability and suitability for the role of Vivian. In the series The Originals, in which she plays the main role of Hayley Marshall Kenner, not only does she portray the character of a Werewolf which in itself has its challenges. She also plays a Mother, which suggests she would be familiar with playing this role and should be able to relate to it. The Originals as a series is incredibly theatrical, and requires both physical and emotional traits from its characters.Vivian also requires these traits and she will need to exert herself for this role, which I have confidence in, after looking closely at her previous work. Below I have attached the birth scene from The Originals, which displays some of Tonkin's previous work and acting style. 

For the character of the Father, I have looked at the following Actors to make the decision and find the most suitable casting choice. 

• Aaron Paul - 'The Path'

• Darren Criss - 'Glee' 

• Joseph Morgan -'The Originals' 

• Jack O'Connell - 'Skins' 

Joseph Morgan: Thomas Peyton 
(Father)

Born 16th May 1981 (Now 36 years old) is an English Actor and Director. He studied a BTEC Performing Arts Course at Gorseinon College before moving back to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in his late teens. He started his career appearing in Television series including 'Doc Martin', 'Casualty' and 'Mansfield Park' before landing the role of  Klaus Mikaelson in 'The Vampire Diaries' and its spin off show 'The Originals' which he is most known for.

Joseph Morgan

Filmography:
Mansfield Park (2007)
Angels Crest (2011)
The Grind (2011)
Immortals (2011)
Desiree (2014)

Silent Witness (2007)
Doc Martin (2007)
Casualty (2008-09)
Ben Hur (2010)
The Vampire Diaries (2011-16)
The Originals (2013-Present)

I have chosen to cast Joseph Morgan as the main character of Thomas Peyton in Motherhood. He has light brown hair and light blue eyes. He is also relatively tall with a medium build.
His age is also suitable, being a few years older than Phoebe Tonkin which is suitable as Thomas is a few years older than Vivian. in terms of his previous work, he has worked largely in Television and is known for his character in The Vampire Diaries, working alongside Phoebe Tonkin.
Not only is he physically suitable for the role, it was his working relationship and companionship with Phoebe Tonkin that certified his suitability. His character and Tonkin's have a child in The Originals, which means that they have worked closely and have portrayed parents beforehand, providing a sense of familiarity between them. He also portrays a leading protagonist in The Originals which demonstrates his acting ability to take on the role of a leading male, which is essential. Given, his previous work, I am confident in his acting ability and think that he will be able to portray the sensitive and caring Father, also being able to demonstrate the independent and strong minded traits that Thomas has.

The Twins - Sarah and Elise
For the twin daughters of Vivian and Thomas, I wanted to find child Actors that had some experience and a history of work. However, the appearance of the twins is also very important. Finding child Actors can be a challenge because often they don't have much work experience and won't yet have a distinct acting style. To find the right cast members for the twins, I researched young television Actresses under 15. There were a few choices, but many of them didn't have the right appearance and did not have a likeness to each other. Although they are not identical twins, it is important that they still look alike.

Kylie Rogers - Elise

Kylie Rogers

Kylie Rogers in an American Actress born on 18th February 2004 and is 13 years old. For such a young Actress, she has an impressive body of work in both Television and Film including her work on Collateral Beauty which is a film also starring Will Smith. Other roles include as Anna Beam in Miracles from Heaven which was a film released last year. Other work includes working on American television series CSI and The Whispers.

Filmography:
Horror House (2012)
Listen (2013)
Miracles From Heaven (2016)
Collateral Beauty (2016)

Days of Our Lives (2012)
CSI (2013)
The Whispers (2015)
Chicago P.D (2016)


I have chosen to cast Kylie Rogers as Elise when she is 11 in the series. This is during the second half of the series. In terms of her acting suitability, I am more than confident having seen her work in Collateral Beauty and think that her acting ability is ideal for the casting of Elise. Her appearance also has suitability, with blonde, curly hair and light eyes, both of which are essential for the roles of the twins in this production. Below I have attached a clip from Collateral Beauty which displays her confidence as a young Actress.

Alyvia Alyn Lind - Sarah

Alyvia Alyn Lind is an American Actress born on 27th July 2007 and is 10 years old. She is another young Actress with suitability to portray an 11 year old Sarah in the second half of the production. She is most known for her role as Faith Newman on CBS daytime soap The Young and the Restless from 2011 to present, starring in over 70 episodes. She has lots of acting experience on Television making her an ideal choice for one of the twins. 

Filmography:

Alyvia Alyn Lind

Dark Skies (2013)

Blended (2014)

Mockingbird (2014)

The Young and the Restless (2011-Present)

Revenge (2012-2015)

NCIS (2013)

A Deadly Adoption (2015)

Teachers (2016)

For the same reasons as casting Kylie Rogers, Lind has lots of acting experience for such a young Actress, having worked in Television for a long time having starred in numerous episodes of  The Young and the Restless. I have confidence in her acting ability and think that she will be more than suitable for this small part. She also has the right appearance for portraying one of the twins, with long curly blonde hair and light grey eyes. She also looks rather similar to Rogers, which of course is essential. 

Jessica Lange: Jill Brown

Jessica Lange is an American Actress and was born on 20th April 1949 (68 years old). She is a critically acclaimed Actress, that has received worldwide praise for her work in Film and Television, receiving two Best Actress Academy Awards for her performances in Blue Sky and Tootsie. Most recently, between 2011-2015, she worked on Television serial American Horror Story, distributed by 20th Century Fox and Produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. 

Jessica Lange 

Filmography:

King Kong (1976)

Tootsie (1982)

Frances (1982)

Country (1984)

Sweet Dreams (1985)

Blue Sky (1994)

Big Fish (2003)

O Pioneers! (1992)

Normal (2003)

Grey Gardens (2009)

American Horror Story (2011-2015)

Horace and Pete (2016

Feud (2017)

I have decided to cast Jessica Lange as the character of Jill Brown as her acting ability and body of work is hugely extensive and of the finest in the industry, making her a very suitable choice. It is important to me that all of the Actors chosen have what I deem to be good acting ability as I want the performances to be believable. The mother figures in this series are incredibly important as this is the central theme so it is essential that the right cast is chosen to emulate these figures. I have full confidence that Lange will be able to portray the sweet, caring Jill and come across as believable and genuine to audiences. 

She has worked predominately in film but has 

recently starred in American Horror Story which is an American series distributed by Fox. In the series, she plays a different character in each of the Anthology series, emphasising her ability to adopt any character. The other cast members I have chosen have worked predominately on television and are not as well known as Lange who is well known all over the world. I decided that I wanted to have a cast member that is better known to appeal to the target audience and get people talking about the series. When people hear about a series, they want to know who is starring in it. Therefore, I wanted to choose Lange to gain interest in the series and attract audiences. Her appearance is also fitting for the series as Jill has straight blonde hair and warm eyes, and should look good for her age. All of these requirements, Lange meets which confirms her suitability for me. The scene below is from the second series of American Horror Story entitled 'Asylum' in which Jessica Lange plays sadistic Sister Jude. I think her acting in this series really highlights her diversity as an Actress and ability to play any role. 

William Fichtner - Detective Daniel Reed

William Fichtner

William Fichtner is an American Actor born on the 27th November 1956 (61 years old). He started his career studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. His first professional role was in the American soap opera entitled As the World Turns in 1987. Since, he has acted in a number of film and television series. Most notably for playing Sheriff Tom Underlay in Science Fiction series Invasion, and working on other productions including Armageddon, The Dark Knight and Independence Day: Resurgence.

Filmography:

Armageddon (1998)

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Crash (2004)

The Big Bang (2011)

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

American Dad! (2005)

Invasion (2005-2006)

Prison Break (2006-2009)

Empire (2015-2016)

I have decided that William Fichtner is a suitable casting choice to portray Detective Daniel Reed in the series, due to his previous history of work. I have observed some of his work and made note of his character choices that often been quite strong, alpha male characters with authoritative titles. I have watched the series Invasion, in which he portrays a Sheriff and am confident in his ability as a character Actor to portray Reed. His ability to play this kind of role suggests that he would feel comfortable in the role of Detective Reed. In Invasion, he also plays a Father and has a protective, calm disposition. It's essential for the portrayal of Detective Reed to show that he is kind, patient and well liked among the neighbourhood community. I think that William Fichtner has a charismatic charm that will be perfectly suited for the character. He will also need to be assertive and strong minded as a Detective and be confident but also serious at times. I think that Fichtner will be able to bring the right balance to the character and be a suitable choice.