The casting industry in Australia has undergone significant changes over the past decade, with a growing emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). This evolution has led to more authentic representation on screen and richer storytelling that better reflects Australia’s multicultural society. Screen Australia’s ‘Seeing Ourselves 2‘ report, released in 2023, revealed notable improvements in on-screen diversity since 2016.
For example, First Nations representation has shown substantial growth, and LGBTIQ+ representation has increased, with 4.8% of actors in main roles publicly identifying as LGBTIQ+. This representation is crucial for creating more nuanced and inclusive storytelling; however, despite the progress, there is room to evolve to the next stage. Enter, ‘conscious casting’.
Conscious casting is about offering up choices that challenge our unconscious bias when it comes to storytelling. Examining how an actor’s identity may influence or reshape a character’s story can potentially add new dimensions to the overall narrative or reach more audiences in a more nuanced way. It’s about finding incidental moments where diversity is reflected in an organic way, so that stereotypes aren’t perpetuated. It’s not about ticking boxes for race, gender or disability; it’s about seeing the actor as a whole person whose life experiences can add depth to a character and story. This approach values genuine representation, not merely meeting diversity quotas, and aims to bring a range of voices into storytelling naturally, so everyone feels included as part of the bigger picture.
Conscious casting aims to remove barriers and starts to question the brief itself – is there a reason that this person needs to be a certain type? Is it intrinsic to the story? How does it change the narrative if they were cast differently? What problems can we solve by casting a certain actor? Can this be a case of incidentals? What if they were non-binary? What if that male character was cast female? The questions are endless, and it goes deeper than the words on the page. They’re questions that require meaningful discussion combined with creative collaboration, which needs to happen not only when a project gets to the casting stage (hint: bring casting in earlier on in the project). Conscious casting fosters creativity and incidental casting is the result of approaching the process consciously, resulting in powerful casting choices that positively impact audiences.
Our ‘Cricket Australia – Made of Cricket’ campaign is the perfect example of conscious casting where we were able to dive deep into the cricket community and find emerging female cricketers, which resulted in finding the amazingly talented Wiradjuri woman Dharmini Chauhan, which helped the client reach broader audiences and thus remain plugged into modern Australia. It even won the B&T Diversity Award.
We need stories that reflect our collective experiences, not just those of a select few. This goes beyond simply including diverse faces in supporting roles or background extras; it’s about ensuring that there are meaningful roles for voices from marginalised backgrounds that are heard in every aspect of storytelling – from writing rooms to production teams. It’s time for everyone in the industry – producers, directors, writers, talent agents and casting directors – to embrace conscious casting as a standard practice.
Authentic and diverse casting has been shown to increase a production’s commercial success (and not just for the stories we tell on the big screen). This approach also works for advertising, helping brands connect with new audiences (thus improving their image and market reach).
Read: Conscious casting in the world of voiceover acting
So how do we take steps towards embracing conscious casting? Always avoid casting roles with diversity quotas in mind. Instead, deliberately consider an actor’s identity in a way that serves the story. Prioritise their lived experiences in storytelling and foster safe spaces where all voices can be heard. Create more opportunities for underrepresented groups at all career stages (not just cherry picking from the cream of the crop). Sure, big-name celebrities may initially draw an audience, but we’ve proven that casting unknown talent can elevate a production, give a platform for new artists and allow the audience to focus on the story (rather than the shiny celebrity status). Take our recent indie film Birdeater as proof that you don’t always need tentpole actors for a film to find success.
Our ultimate goal is to make the diversity conversation commonplace – so commonplace that it no longer requires special mention. It’s how we approach every project: consciously. We envision a future where diverse representation is not just a checkbox to tick, but a natural component of every production. This shift will not only enhance the quality of storytelling, but also contribute to a more inclusive and equitable industry, where all Australians see themselves represented on screen. Ultimately, the future of the Australian entertainment industry needs to reflect the diversity of our society – not as an exception but as the rule.
