Updated October 2026.
Start with the arithmetic, because the arithmetic is the opportunity: 4 open calls, 3 different pay structures, and 1 stand-in job that runs for 35 days.
Between October 7 and October 15, Project Casting posted four separate calls for My Jesus, Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s feature film about singer Anne Wilson. Two of them film this week in Nashville. One pays SAG scale to performers as young as 10. And the stand-in call alone covers dates from October 21 through November 24 — five weeks on a single feature. Most actors scrolling the board will see one call and apply to one role. The board is actually telling a bigger story, and it is worth reading all of it before you submit to any of it.
Open casting calls — live on Project Casting right now
My Jesus is casting in Nashville through Jenny Alison Casting. Verified live calls:
- Diner and pool patrons — featured background, filming Friday October 23, $100 for 8 hours
- Stand-in — male, 18–35, 6’1″–6’3″, various dates October 21–November 24, $200 per 12 hours
- Wife — featured background, female 25–33, filming Thursday October 22, $100 for 8 hours
- Blonde actresses — two principal roles, ages 10–14, SAG scale
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The data snapshot: what four calls in eight days actually tell you
Project Casting’s board is a paper trail for this production, and the trail has a shape:
- The posting window is compressed. All four calls landed between October 7 and October 15. The first call out — the principal search for two young actresses — posted a full week before the background calls. That order is normal on a feature and useful for actors: principals first, then the featured background that fills the world around them, then the stand-in who has to be on set for all of it.
- One film, three pay structures. The young principal roles pay SAG scale. The stand-in pays $200 per 12 hours. Featured background pays $100 for 8 hours, at $12.50 an hour with an 8-hour guarantee and time-and-a-half after 8. On a straight rate comparison, the stand-in earns double the background day rate — and he is the only applicant on the board required to have set experience, with stand-in experience preferred.
- Half the open roles are matched to a picture. The Wife role is, in the call’s own words, picture picked by the Director. The stand-in must stand in for a pictured actor and fit a two-inch height window, 6’1″ to 6’3″. On this production, your photo is not supporting material. For two of the four calls, it is the decision.
- The same two gates appear on every adult call. Nashville local hire only, and availability regardless of call time for a day that can run 12 hours or more. No travel, no lodging, no partial availability. If you cannot clear both gates, the honest move is to wait — this office casts Nashville productions constantly, as its work on 9-1-1: Nashville shows.
Production at a glance
- Title: My Jesus — a feature film inspired by the life and breakout song of Christian and country artist Anne Wilson.
- Studios: Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, the team behind I Can Only Imagine and Jesus Revolution.
- Source: Wilson’s memoir, My Jesus: From Heartache to Hope. Wilson, a Kentucky teenager who had planned to become an astronaut, lost her older brother Jacob in a car accident in 2017, sang at his funeral, posted a performance online, and was discovered by music executives. Her single “My Jesus” became her breakthrough.
- Director and writer: Kay Oyegun, making her feature directorial debut. Her television writing credits include This Is Us.
- Announced cast: Aliza Kate Barlow plays Anne, in her studio feature debut. Gavin Casalegno plays Jacob. Monica Potter plays their mother, Lynn, and Charles Esten plays their father, Kent. Beau Bridges plays their grandfather, Bob.
- Status: in production now in Nashville, Tennessee and surrounding areas, with filming running from October 21 into late November 2026. No theatrical release date has been announced.
Who is casting it: Jenny Alison Casting
Every live Project Casting call for this film names the same office: Jenny Alison Casting, the Nashville-based company run by Jenny Alison Rodriguez. Be precise about the scope, because it shapes how you submit. No separate principal casting director has been publicly announced in the sources for this film; the hiring that is open, call by call, is the background, featured background, stand-in, and young-principal hiring on these notices, and that hiring runs through this office.
Her recent record explains why Kingdom Story keeps her close. On IMDb, Rodriguez is credited as extras casting director on 9-1-1: Nashville, on Amazon’s Scarpetta, and on I Can Only Imagine 2 — which is itself a Kingdom Story Company production. In other words, this is not a first job for a new studio partner. It is a standing Nashville pipeline: the same office that staffs a network series week after week in the same city is now staffing this feature in the same city.
The calls show you her working style:
- Photos are specified, and the specifications are strict. A sister notice for this same film, for October 21 background, asks for three recent photographs including at least one full-body shot, clearly showing current hairstyle — no filters, no hats, no sunglasses.
- Paperwork is part of casting. The Wife call requires I-9 verification with acceptable original documents, and states plainly that performers on employer-specific work visas sponsored by another employer cannot be considered. Have your documents in order before you are asked, not after.
- Picture-picking is explicit. When a role says the director will picture-pick it, casting is building a short stack of photos for the director to choose from. You are not auditioning your way in. You are photographing your way onto that stack.
Contrast that with look-match reenactment casting — Project Casting’s Killer Grannies Season 2 guide covers an office matching faces to real people in real cases. The discipline here is similar (current photo, exact brief, local hire) but the target is different: you are matching a fictional family’s world, not a case file.
The realistic entry points, role by role
Diner and pool patrons — Friday, October 23 ($100/8). The widest door on the board. Diner patrons are open to all genders, ages 18–65. Pool patrons are a smaller group, ages 18–30, and must be comfortable wearing a bathing suit. Both are non-union featured background, both require a Nashville local hire, and both ask you to commit to 12 or more hours even though pay is quoted on an 8-hour guarantee.
Wife — Thursday, October 22 ($100/8). A featured background role playing the wife of one of the leads: female, 25–33, described as fit, available regardless of call time, and picture-picked by the director. Featured background next to a lead is the closest seat to the principal cast that this board offers an adult this week — which is exactly why the photo decision sits with the director.
Stand-in — October 21 to November 24 ($200/12). The best job on this board for the right body. Male, 18–35, 6’1″–6’3″, standing in for a pictured lead across various dates over five weeks. Set experience is required and stand-in experience is preferred. A stand-in works the lighting and camera setups so the actor does not have to — it is technical, repetitive, professional work, and five weeks of it on a Lionsgate feature is a real credit and a real paycheck pattern, not a one-day booking.
Younger Anne and younger sister — SAG scale. Two union principal roles: a blonde performer aged 12–14 to play the younger lead, and a blonde performer aged 10–12 to play her younger sister. Each works roughly one to two weeks in late October through November, must be a Tennessee resident working as a Nashville local hire, and union and non-union performers may be considered. These are speaking principal roles in a studio feature — the most competitive calls on this list, and the only ones paying SAG scale.
How to apply, step by step
- Pick the call that matches your actual measurements and calendar. Height for the stand-in, age bands for everything else, and the specific date — October 22 for Wife, October 23 for diner and pool — are stated in the calls. Submitting to a brief you do not fit does not create a backup option; it creates a skip next time.
- Build the photo set the office asks for. Recent photos, at least one full-body, current hairstyle visible, no filters, hats, or sunglasses. For the two picture-matched roles, this set is effectively your audition tape.
- Bring your Project Casting profile current, then apply to the specific role. Each verified link in the box at the top of this guide is a separate role with its own date and rate. Apply to the role, not to the film in general.
- Sort your I-9 documents now. The calls require original, acceptable documents at verification. A performer who cannot produce them cannot be booked, however good the photo is.
- Hold the whole day — and mean it. Every adult call repeats the same condition: available regardless of call time, ready for 12 or more hours, with call times typically confirmed the afternoon before. If Oct 22 or Oct 23 is only partly free, it is not free.
- For young performers, submit as a family decision. The principal roles are for ages 10–14, Tennessee residents, working one to two weeks. Parents should read the full call, confirm the school and schedule reality, and then submit — these are SAG-scale principal roles, and production will expect a professional level of availability from the household, not just the performer. Start from the casting calls on Project Casting and keep materials ready while the shoot runs into November.
One more look at the live calls before you go
Open casting calls — Nashville, filming October 22–23 and beyond
FAQ
How much does My Jesus pay background actors?
Featured background pays $100 for 8 hours — $12.50 an hour with an 8-hour guarantee and time-and-a-half after 8 — for both the October 22 Wife role and the October 23 diner and pool patrons. The stand-in pays $200 per 12 hours, and the two young principal roles pay SAG scale.
Where and when is My Jesus filming?
In Nashville, Tennessee and surrounding areas. The dated calls film Thursday October 22 and Friday October 23, 2026, and the stand-in is needed on various dates from October 21 through November 24. All roles are local hires; no travel or lodging is offered.
Who is Anne Wilson, and what is the film about?
Anne Wilson is a Christian and country singer whose debut single “My Jesus” became her breakthrough after she sang at her brother Jacob’s funeral and posted a performance online. Directed by Kay Oyegun from Wilson’s memoir, the film follows that story, with Aliza Kate Barlow as Anne and Gavin Casalegno as Jacob.
Do I need experience to apply?
For featured background, no experience is stated as required — you need the right age band, a Nashville local-hire base, current photos, and a fully open day. The stand-in call is the exception: set experience is required and stand-in experience is preferred. The young principal roles accept union and non-union performers.
Who is casting My Jesus, and how do I reach them?
Jenny Alison Casting, the Nashville office behind the extras casting on 9-1-1: Nashville and I Can Only Imagine 2, is casting the open roles. Project Casting’s Fatal Attraction guide shows the same pattern on another current production: one office, specific briefs, fast dates. Apply through the verified role links above with current photos and your documents ready.
My Jesus shoots in Nashville into late November, and a five-week stand-in window means this production will keep needing local faces as new setups and locations rotate through the schedule. Keep your profile and photos current, watch the board while the shoot runs, and when a call fits your measurements and your calendar exactly, move the same day — on a feature moving this fast, the ready local hire is the hire.
