Find Your Dream Job
Talent Directors
Audition and interview performers to select most appropriate talent for parts in stage, television, radio, or motion picture productions.
Also Known As:
Artistic Director
Casting Agent
Casting Coordinator
Casting Director
Extras Casting Director
Model Booker
Talent Producer
Talent Scout
Wages
Annual wages for Talent Directors in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
175,200
5% Change From 2024
Explore Producers and Directors video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Select performers for roles or submit lists of suitable performers to producers or directors for final selection.
- Read scripts and confer with producers to determine the types and numbers of performers required for a given production.
- Locate performers or extras for crowd and background scenes, and stand-ins or photo doubles for actors, by direct contact or through agents.
- Maintain talent files that include information such as performers' specialties, past performances, and availability.
- Teach acting classes.
- Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
- Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
- Review performer information, such as photos, resumes, voice tapes, videos, and union membership, to decide whom to audition for parts.
- Arrange for or design screen tests or auditions for prospective performers.
- Prepare actors for auditions by providing scripts and information about roles and casting requirements.
- Direct shows, productions, and plays.
- Audition and interview performers to match their attributes to specific roles or to increase the pool of available acting talent.
- Direct shows, productions, and plays.
- Contact agents and actors to provide notification of audition and performance opportunities and to set up audition times.
- Attend or view productions to maintain knowledge of available actors.
- Negotiate contract agreements with performers, with agents, or between performers and agents or production companies.
- Read scripts and confer with producers to determine the types and numbers of performers required for a given production.
- Serve as liaisons between directors, actors, and agents.
- Hire and supervise workers who help locate people with specified attributes and talents.
- Teach acting classes.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
Career Coaching
This is not WorldatWork. These are private coaching services.
You May Also Be Interested In
Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")