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Each year, the CDA hosts a prestigious awards ceremony celebrating the best in casting. This event honours exceptional achievements in film, television, and live performance.

About

The CDA Awards 2024 took place at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London on Friday 18th October.

The awards celebrated exceptional achievements in Commercials, Film, TV, New Media and Live Performance casting.

Meet the jury

Pippa Harrison

With a background in theatre and dance, Pippa joined Spotlight in 1999 to run the Actors Advisory service. On becoming Global Head of Industry Relations in 2021, Pippa worked on all Talent Systems brands overseeing events, PR and promotion, building excellent relationships across the industry, from drama schools to film festivals. This involves frequent public speaking both nationally and internationally on Casting and Spotlight’s role within the Industry. 

Matt Hood

Matt Hood is the Managing Director of Spotlight, the UK & Ireland’s leading casting directory. Founded in 1927, Spotlight has been the essential resource for actors seeking to showcase their talents for nearly a hundred years, and three years ago joined the Talent Systems group of companies. Prior to joining Talent Systems in 2021, Matt served as Deputy General Secretary at Equity, the UK arts union at the end of a 17 year career with the performing arts union.

Wincie Knight

As the strategic lead for Paramount’s Office of Global Inclusion for International Markets, Wincie Knight works alongside both internal and external stakeholders to implement initiatives that embed diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and belonging within the company’s strategic priorities. A seasoned executive, Knight began her career in production more than 20 years ago and has since channelled her passion into influencing organisational practices and company culture.

Eliot Liss

Eliot has extensive experience in agency, in-house and client-side production. Since joining the IPA, the UK trade body for advertising and media agencies as Head of Production, he has been giving advice on production matters to member agencies and developing policy and best practice within the industry. He particularly enjoys working with the talent community, whether actors, real people, celebrities, casting directors or agents, on both a creative and business affairs level.

Jamie Madge

Jamie Madge is the co-editor of shots, where he interviews top creatives and directors, and produces features on industry trends and innovations. He helps oversee the acclaimed shots Awards and Out Of The Box events, and has presented panels at prestigious events like D&AD and Cannes Lions. A frequent judge at international film and advertising awards, Jamie’s passion for storytelling extends beyond his work to a love for all things film, gaming, comic books, and other geeky endeavours.

Juliet Naylor

Juliet is a freelance Producer, who has been working in the film industry for the last 30 years. Primarily based out of Stink since their inception, she has also worked with Anonymous Content, Park Pictures, Iconoclast, Ruffian and RSA with a range of directors who include NeO, Autumn de Wilde, Alex Hulsey, Martin Krejci, Nacho Gayan, Nicolas Winding Refn, Dawn Shadforth, The Bobbsey Twins, We are From LA and Adam Berg amongst others.

Edu Perez

Edu began casting in 1998, first as a camera operator and casting assistant. His first job as a Casting Director was the BBC series Hollyoaks, casting their 2000 Christmas Special in Barcelona. He continued casting commercials in early 2002 and has been running his own casting company and studio for the past fifteen years. Aside from casting, he continues to direct contemporary dance films and music videos. He is currently a Board Member of Apdice, the Spanish Casting Directors Association.

Rachel Reiss

Rachel Reiss CSA is a senior casting director at Liz Lewis Casting Partners where she casts Film, TV, Commercials, Podcasts, Animation and VO nationwide. Rachel’s career started primarily in TV where she cast shows for numerous networks including the Food Network, Bravo, Lifetime, Oxygen, A&E, Spike, HGTV, and Discovery. At Liz Lewis Casting Partners, she has focused more heavily on scripted projects. Her recent credits include Dee & Friends in Oz, on Netflix.

Kolade Shasi

Kolade Shasi is a Casting Director, Producer and Actor who works in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He has 10+ years of success Casting Directing over 50 projects including Television Commercials, Feature Films, Short Films and Music Videos. Some of his projects have gone on to win Best Actor Awards or break box office records. His casting credits include the Netflix Original YA series Far From Home (2022), an Amazon Original and Nigerian film Breath of Life.

Nominees

Hannah Birkett Casting

Hannah Birkett is a dynamic casting director with over 25 years of experience, recognised for her eye for comedy and original choices. She excels at identifying actors who embody the essence of their characters, shaping memorable performances that audiences remember. Her ability to spot emerging trends and understand audience dynamics ensures insightful casting decisions that elevate any project. A long-standing BAFTA voting member and CDA board member, Hannah is committed to inclusivity and pushing creative boundaries, contributing to more authentic storytelling in the ever-evolving entertainment industry. Her work has earned her numerous awards, including British Arrow, Ciclope, D&AD, Creative Circle, CDA and Cristal.

Best Casting of a Stills Campaign
Best Casting of a Campaign (2 or more Commercials)
Best Casting of a UK & ROI Commercial
Best Casting of an International Commercial
Leanne Flinn

Leanne has developed a creative approach to casting and has a good eye for spotting talent. She mixes traditional casting methods with real people and is often approached for comedy casting. Leanne works with some incredible directors and has gone on to cast some exciting projects. These include numerous notable commercials (This Girl Can), TV (such as the first season of People Just Do Nothing), music promos (Dua Lipa, Chaka Khan) & award-winning short films. She has also worked on features -  hired to street cast new talent/ non actors for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Oscar-winning film The Favourite. She has won D&AD pencils, Silver British Arrows and Ciclope casting awards as well as a CDG award and CDA awards. Leanne is a member of the CDA and the CDG.

Best Casting of a Music Promo
Sue Odell

Since starting out street-casting for hard-hitting Aids and Anti-Heroin advertising campaigns back in the 1980s, Sue’s favourite commissions have always been powerful charity and public awareness projects, which have recently included a number of LGBTQIA+ projects. Working with iconic photographers and directors, the films she’s cast have won a number of prestigious awards over the years. 

Best Casting of a Short Film
Kharmel Cochrane

Kharmel has worked with Alex Garland, Emerald Fennell, Reinaldo Marcus Green and Neill Blomkamp in the last year on their new projects, as well as continuing her collaboration with Robert Eggers. Her most recent projects include ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ (2024), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), and Saltburn (2023).

Best Casting of a Film & Drama
Brendan McNamara

Working in the industry since 1993, Brendan McNamara is a multi-award winning casting director for Beach Casting Ltd and the author of “It’s the Audition, Stupid!”. This will be Brendan’s 8th CDA nomination.

Road Casting

Founded in 2013 by Coralie Rose, Road Casting is committed to diversity, equality and inclusion with a particular focus on celebrating under-represented people in advertising and film.

Ali Fearnley

With over 25 years of Casting experience working with leading Production Companies and Directors worldwide Ali and her team have cast numerous Award-winning campaigns. We love collaborating with our Directors to find the best talent for each project whether that be established actors or unseen and emerging talent. We are delighted to be nominated for 3 Awards this year.

Sally McCleery

Sally accidentally stumbled into casting 13 years ago, and soon realised that all the eclectic skills she had gathered so far in life could be of some use here. She works across TV, film and commercials, casting actors and non-actors alike.

Best Casting of an Online Commercial
Best Street Casting
Nicci Topping Casting

Nicci is one of the UK’s leading Casting Directors and has been a professional casting director for over 25 years casting over 50 Films and TV shows. Working across film, TV, Games and high-end commercials she has worked with many leading directors and producers. She is the former chair of the CSA’s Equity in Entertainment and Festivals and Panels Committee.

LANE Casting

LANE Casting is a company of Casting Directors who work internationally with offices in Barcelona, London and Madrid. Using traditional casting methods, street casting, specialist research and celebrity casting, our work ranges from long form narrative and TV series to short films, commercials, music videos, stills and special projects.

Best Casting Featuring Children
Kate & Lou +Ro Casting

Since launching in 2007 Kate & Lou +Ro Casting have successfully cast thousands of incredible actors, models and real people for film, television, commercials, online projects and photography campaigns. Working with some of the biggest directors, photographers and brands in the world, their award-winning work spans the globe.

Best Casting of a Charity / Public Awareness Commercial
Looks Like Me Casting

Looks Like Me Casting celebrates all people through casting. We ensure people (actors, creators and street casts) are considered and featured in advertising, audio, theatre and mainstream media. 

Best Casting of an Open Media Project
Best Casting of a Live Performance
Tree Petts Casting

Tree is an award-winning, London-based casting director catering for major clients both in the UK and internationally. Known throughout the industry not only for her curly locks, but also for her energy, driving enthusiasm and her strong moral compass. Tree founded the Casting Directors Association to help maintain standards in the industry she loves. Tree has won a number of awards for casting and has now cast over 2000 commercials and counting…

Harry Blumenau

Harry’s recent credits include : Why Am I So Single? (Garrick Theatre), Kinky Boots (CURVE / UK Tour), Your Lie In April (Harold Pinter Theatre), Burlesque (Manchester Opera House), Unbelievable (Criterion Theatre), Death Note (Palladium / Lyric Theatre), My Beautiful Laundrette (CURVE / UK Tour) and Babies (The Other Palace).

Stuart Burt Casting

Stuart’s current credits include Cabaret (Kit Kat Club), Mrs Doubtfire (Shaftesbury Theatre), Sunset Boulevard (Broadway) and tours of & Juliet and Here You Come Again (Gillian Lynne). In  2023, Stuart was included in ‘The Stage 100’ List of the most influential people in British theatre and is the winner of 4 CDG Awards for Best Casting.

Claire Catterson Casting

Claire has been involved in casting for over 18 years. During this time, she has worked on a variety of projects including multiple award-winning Commercials and Music Videos. Casting worldwide, Claire actively encourages discovering new talent, supporting established actors and is a very proud member of the CDA, CDG and CSA. 

AC Casting

AC Casting came into being in 2002. Initially carving out a niche in commercial casting, ACC has grown into a company embracing many film and TV projects. Ali, Katy & the team take real pride in a happy work environment and feel passionately about diversity and equality in casting as well as being part of the wonderful CDA.

Hannah Marie Williams

Hannah’s many years working in casting spans all corners of the industry from drama to documentary, fashion and photography. This mixture of experience now informs Hannah’s casting of film, TV, commercials and theatre which tends to involve a new talent discovery process with the casting of more established talent. All of Hannah’s work is driven by representation, authenticity and attention to detail in world creation.

Winners

Congratulations to all the winners from the CDA Awards 2024! We look forward to inviting you back for 2025.

Best Casting of a UK & ROI Commercial
Hannah Birkett Casting – “Get Comfortable - First Office Poo” – Andrex
Best Casting of an International Commercial
Hannah Birkett Casting – “Thank You, France for Superbowl 2024” – Etsy
Best Casting of an Online Commercial
Sally McCleery – “Home is Where the Elephant Atta is” – Elephant Atta
Best Street Casting
Sally McCleery – “If I Had More Time” – Breast Cancer Now
Best Casting Featuring Children
LANE Casting – “The Meal” – McDonald's
Best Casting of a Charity / Public Awareness Commercial
Kate & Lou +Ro Casting – “Sicker Than The Patients” – Frontline 19
Best Casting of an Open Media Project
Looks Like Me Casting – “Queen Charlotte's Global Orchestra” – Alicia Keys
Best Casting of a Live Performance
Looks Like Me Casting – “Rumble in the Jungle” – DockX, Canada Water
Best Casting of a Stills Campaign
Hannah Birkett Casting – “There's No Deal Like a TK Deal” – TK Maxx
Best Casting of a Music Promo
Leanne Flinn – “People are Good” – Depeche Mode
Best Casting of a Campaign (2 or more Commercials)
Hannah Birkett Casting – “Trains Now on Uber” – Uber Trains
Best Casting of a Short Film
Sue Odell – “Hard Times” –
Best Casting of a Film & Drama
Kharmel Cochrane – “Saltburn” –

Media