PRE-PRODUCTION: Chosen Cast

As Alex is the director for this project, it is his final decision as to who we cast. I will then contact all of the candidates and tell them if they were successful or not. After reviewing the audition recordings, Alex has decided that the candidates below will be our final cast:

Tim Stewart - Ed Allenby


We met with Ed on the first audition day. We wanted Tim to be of a tall size but medium build and we found this in Ed. We want Tim to be arrogant but charismatic and after meeting Ed, we feel that he will be able to pull this off well.

During the audition Alex and I felt that Ed portrayed the character of Tim really well. He used the audition space well and was good in the scene when they hit the dog. He acted very frantic in trying to help the dog and then changed emotion very quickly when he met Sheila. According to his character profile, he appears cocky and dismissive of other people. Ed showed this arrogance well throughout the audition, especially during Scene 1 when Tim doesn't listen to Tess telling him that the vet business was a bad idea. We believe that Ed is the best person to play our Tim.


Luke Lucas - Daniel Hemsley

We met Daniel on the first audition day. He's smaller than Ed which fits well with the idea of Luke's character looking up to Tim. Alex and I really liked Daniel, he was young and seemed innocent which is what we want Luke to be like. 

He portrayed Luke really well and had a good sense of space. Daniel thought on his feet as he grabbed his rucksack as a prop for the bag with the dead dog inside. His character profile describes him as always wanting to try his best and trying to impress Tim. This is used in Scene 2 when he shows Tim the van and desperately wants him to like his work on the slogan. Daniel played this character in this scene very well.

Seeing Daniel portray Luke in different tones of voice helped Alex decide on how he wanted him played. 


Pete Lucas - no longer a role

While Alex was completing script drafts he decided that Pete's role wasn't really needed. He only had a couple of lines and we are still able to mention him without him needing to be there. Instead he decided to expand the character of Mollie, the owl expert.  



Tess Connolly - Skevy Stylia

We meet with Skevy on the second audition day. She was really friendly and we had good conversation with her from the start. 

Skevy was very good at portraying Tess in different tones of voice, in a caring tone and a demanding tone. These tones are important for the role of a big sister because even though Tim and Tess are now grown up, it shows that she still treats him as little when he says silly things, such as trying to build a vet's business with a fake University diploma. However, she only wants the best for Tim and this came across well in Skevy's more gentle tone of voice. Due to this, we feel that she was best suited for the role of Tess.



Sheila Hodges - Susan Baskerville


We met Susan on the second audition day. She has been in a few films from our course so we already had high hopes for her. She was exactly who we were looking for to play Sheila.

During the audition, we could tell that she felt that the cat was the most important thing in her life. She showed a good amount of emotion about her dead cat. We really believed she was upset about Sooty. The Susan portrayed Sheila really well. 

In her character profile, Sheila is described as a bit senile and can sometimes say things without realising what she's said. Susan portrayed this well when she made the comment about the slogan on the side of the van. She was just what we expected, a sweet elderly lady who we felt would fit the role perfectly. 

Mollie Jackson - Becky Black


The character for Mollie was expanded half way through the project. Alex decided that because Pete didn't have much of a speaking role, he wasn't really needed. However, he wanted to make Mollie's role bigger. This was decided after the auditions days took place and therefore, we didn't really want to advertise another set of auditions with the deadline in a few weeks time. At the same time, we were struggling to cast Tess because we saw two candidates suitable for the character. As a result of this, we decided to ask if Becky, who originally came in for Tess, wanted the role of Mollie. Luckily for us, she was more than happy to change roles. After this, I sent her through the information for this new character.

We met Becky on the first audition day, she was very friendly and portrayed the character for Tess well, so we believe she will play the character of Mollie well. 


Mark - Jim Hargood

Alex's dad, Jim, will be standing in as Mark. This isn't a speaking role and because of this we felt that we didn't need to cast a professional actor for this part. We simply wanted a big and strong character involved so Tim could feel intimidated when he approached him after seeing Sheila again. Jim is happy to play the part of Mark and is confirmed for the single filming day in February.