The casting director behind Louie C.K.’s hit TV show Louie reveals how she finds and casts actors for the hit TV series.
Louie is one of the most popular shows on the FX Network. Mixing awkward comedy with drama, Louie C.K. has solidified himself as a master in filmmaking, script writing, and acting.
But, it is more than just a one man show on Louie, one of the hardest parts about the business is finding someone who can work alongside Louie C.K. in front of the screen and that’s where casting director Gayle Keller comes in.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Keller revealed how she finds the perfect actor for FX Network’s Louie and it’s pretty amazing.
She starts off by visiting comedy clubs and stand up shows across the New York City.
She is constantly attending improv and standup shows in and around New York City, and goes to the theater two-to-three times a week, scouring the city for new and exciting talent. “And it doesn’t have to be Broadway,” she says. “It can be some little old dive theater in East Village or in Brooklyn.”
Louie C.K. is very hands on in the casting process, which she says is a “rare situation”.
FX has given Louis C.K. full creative control of the series, so when casting Keller only consults with him. “That’s kind of a rare situation,” she says. “It’s more like a movie in a way, where the director is the person making the decisions about cast. It’s just such a small show because our crew is so small, it feels very intimate—that you’re really creating something all together.”
Keller also admitted that she likes giving major roles to unknown actors.
Keller also takes great pleasure in giving juicy roles to lesser-known and underrated talent. “I knew Todd Barry and Bobby Kelly before I started Louie, but it was just fun to see them develop and get more screen time and have more things to do on the show,” she says.
Louie is currently on hiatus but she is currently working in Inside Amy Schumer, an untitled HBO pilot, and a pilot for Jax Media starring Michael Showalter.
