What about Hunter Schafer as Jules?
Hunter was an artist. She is an artist, and there’s a sensitivity that she has that lends itself to be an incredible actor. She’s present and she feels things deeply. I think that is her superpower. Some people can be taught that, and some people just have it.
What advice do you give to nontraditional actors after they are cast in your projects?
I don’t take it lightly when we’re taking people out of their environment and putting them into this very heightened situation. Normally, I prepare people by telling them, “This is going to be an incredible experience in your life, and then you’re going to go back to your normal life.” Euphoria was the one time I was like, Whoa. Who would have known? Because it’s never happened before. But usually it’s “Don’t get excited.” It happens with even professional actors, the rise and the fall. The postpartum of a project, I want to make sure someone can handle it.
This year the Academy is introducing the achievement-in-casting award at the Oscars. What are your thoughts?
I never sought out to be a casting director. I just have a love for humanity, and I was exploring it in different ways before. Now that I’m here, in this role, I feel like it’s a super-important one. It’s a huge part of the picture and what filmmaking is. I feel like it’s an artistry.
We each have a different signature. We all do it in our own ways. We’re bringing a part of ourselves to this process; you’re not just making lists of people. There’s really an artistry to it, and there’s really an exploration that feels cinematic in the way that you’re bringing the page to life in human form.
Hair, Orlando Pita; makeup, Romy Soleimani; manicure, Pika; set design, Viki Rutsch. Produced on location by Boom Productions. For details, go to VF.com/credits.
