#105: Aisha Bywaters, Casting Director

My guest is Aisha Bywaters, a BIFA-nominated casting director whose credits include independent films such as Body of Water, County Lines, The Last Tree, Dirty God and Mari, as well as the TV series Enterprice and We Are Lady Parts. Most recently, Aisha cast the upcoming TV series adaptation of Dolly Alderton’s memoir Everything I Know About Love, the process for which we talked about a little bit. 

We also discussed Aisha background in theatre, learning the film industry ropes at Shaheen Baig casting, branching out on her own and learning how to put herself out there and also what is she’s looking for in audition and trusting her gut instinct when it comes to casting decisions. 

I always enjoy chatting about casting because it’s such an integral yet still strangely invisible part of making a film and although there has been much more recognition for the work that casting directors do over the past couple of years, I still think there are so many nuances and elements of the role that we (myself included) don’t necessarily grasp. So it was a real privilege to spend some time with Aisha and hear about her perspective on what she does and how she does it.