The Unsung Casting of ANH

Irene Lamb, Diane Crittenden and Vic Ramos.

These three ladies were credited for casting on the original Star Wars; Yet I never ever hear about them. Ever. What is up with that? They were the woman who casted MARK HAMMIL, HARRISON FORD, CARRIE FISHER, PETER CUSHING, ALEC GUNIESS, ANTHONY DANEILS, KENNY BAKER, PETER MAYHEW, DAVID PROWSE, JAMES EARL JONES, PHILL BROWN, SHELAGH FRASER, JACK PURVIS, ALEX MCRINDLE, EDDIE BYRNE, DREW HEMLEY, DENNIS LAWSON, GARRICK HAGGON, JACK KLAFF, WILLAMS HOOTKINS, ANGUS MCINNIS, JEREMY SINDEN, GRAHAM ASHLEY, DON HENDERSON, RICHARD LE PARMENTIER, LESLIE SCHOFIELD etc.

All the actors who brought the characters we now know, love and cherish to life, were casted by these three ladies...or were they? That is the question.

Why are they listed under casting? I thought Lucas did the casting himself, with Brian Depalma who was doing casing for the movie 'Carrie'? What is going on here? Who are these three ladies? If they didn't cast the leads which of the cast did they 'cast'?

If they did infact cast everyone...well, this thread is to appreciate them and to talk about the casting of ANH or the original Star Wars production.

Discuss all aspects of casting for ANH here.

 

My guess would be that they assited in the setting up of meetings and screen tests for the main cast. However, they were likely more involved in casting the background extra's or perhaps the "one line" cast.

 

as if that is nothing...


What would Star Wars be without:

"Lost Tiree, lost Dutch. They came from behind"
"TK-421 Why aren't you at your post, TK-421 why aren't you at your post?"
or
"You just watch yourself, we're wanted men. I have the deathsentence on 12 systems"

 

^

If they were responsible for casting Porkins, they should all get medals like Han & Luke's.

"No, I can hold it... Daaaaaaaaaaah! Ahhhhhhhhh!"

 

What about:

"Look at the size of that thing!"
"Close the doors."
and "He was armed only with this."

 

"You just watch yourself, we're wanted men. I have the deathsentence on 12 systems"


^^ This one is ALL me.

 

Does anyone know the gentlemens name and if he is sitll alive? I know his voice is dubbed...

 

Not to change the topic or anything, but since we are talking about OT casting?

If the films were being made now, which present-day actors/actresses would you cast for the roles?

 

for the main characters or the one-liners?

 

We have a thread for that, and we have a thread quote thread or two as well. Lets stay on topic please.

 

All movies have casting directors. Just check the credits.

Casting directors don't just go out and choose the actors by themselves, certainly not for the main roles. They're good for making contacts and knowing what actors big and small have gotten up to. For instance, since we're talking about Rebel pilots in this thread, the casting directors might have known (for instance) what actors they could expect to find in England who did sci-fi movies, and drawn from that pool.

It's sort of fun to read the casting updates on StarWars.com for AOTC and ROTS, as Robin Gurland and Christine King discuss how they go about their jobs. I remember Gurland mentioning she thought of Leeanna Walsman after seeing her perform athletically in a play -- that's the sort of memory and eye that helps with the job, to look at a script and think "hunh, I bet Obscure Working Actor X could work for this, let's call this agency and set something up." Or think of the process of choosing an Anakin--that's a lot of actors to consider and sort through to discuss with George.

You can also see an insight into the casting process (as it works today, anyway) in the "Project Greenlight: The Battle of Shaker Heights" DVD, as we spend much time with Joseph Middleton trying to get celebrities to be in the movie so Miramax will be happy and yet still trying to keep the movie's directors happy.

Lucas may have sat in on De Palma's casting session and picked out people like Carrie Fisher himself, but chances are De Palma's casting director was instrumental in organizing actors for De Palma to see in the first place.



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