Stuart Burt and Kahleen Crawford among the winners of the 2023 CDG Casting Awards
Now in its fifth year, the CDG Casting awards seeks to reward and celebrate the incredible work achieved by casting teams across Film, Television, Theatre and Commercials.
The ceremony was held at Ham Yard Hotel on 22 February and was hosted, for a second time, by Jennifer Saunders.
This year, a new category was added to champion the success of those casting children across all media types. Congratulations to Lucy Bevan, Emily Brockmann and Katie Brydon (Associate) for winning the first award for Best Child Casting.
There was also a special award recognising Ian Smith’s ‘Contribution to Casting’, which was sponsored by Conway Van Gelder Grant.
Without further ado, here are all the fantastic winners from the 2023 CDG Casting Awards:
Best Casting in a Commercial
- NHS, We are the NHS – Heather Basten – WINNER
- Alzheimer’s Society, It’s Not Called Getting Old – Sue Odell
- Coca-Cola Christmas, Real Magic – Michael Cox & Thom Hammond
- Macmillan, Whatever You Need – Anna McAuley
- Vets4Pets, Thank You – Claire Curry
Best Casting in a Limited or Single Series
Sponsored by Netflix
- This is Going to Hurt – Nina Gold & Martin Ware – WINNER
- A Very British Scandal – Sarah Crowe & Xanthe Spencer-Davidson
- Anatomy of a Scandal – Lucy Bevan & Emily Brockmann, Katie Brydon (Associate)
- Landscapers – Nina Gold & Lucy Amos
- Showtrial (BBC) – Daniel Edwards, Lucy Allen (Associate), Catherine Garlick & Tom Payne (Assistants)
Best Casting in Musical Theatre (Inside M25)
Sponsored by JAG (Jonathan Arun Group)
- Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club – Stuart Burt – WINNER
- 101 Dalmatians, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – Jill Green, Nicholas Hockaday (Assistant), Verity Naughton (Child Casting)
- Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre – Pippa Ailion & Natalie Gallacher
- Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – Natalie Gallacher, Richard Johnston (Associate Casting Director)
- Oklahoma!, Young Vic – Jacob Sparrow
- Spring Awakening, Almeida Theatre – Pippa Ailion & Natalie Gallacher, Katherine Skene & Richard Johnston (Assistants)
Best Casting in a TV Comedy Series
Sponsored by Hamilton Hodell
- Big Boys – Rachel Sheridan (Series Casting), Nadira Seecoomar (Taster Pilot) – WINNER
- Cheaters – Catherine Willis, Jessica Mescall (Associate)
- Sex Education (Series 3) – Lauren Evans
- Ten Percent – Rachel Freck, Ceri Bedingfield (Associate)
- The Outlaws (Series 1 and 2) – Amy Hubbard, Amy Jackson & Heidi Lawry, Abhaya Sethu (Assistant)
Best Casting in a TV Drama Series
Sponsored by United Agents
- Heartstopper – Daniel Edwards, Lucy Allen (Associate), Tom Payne & Catherine Garlick (Assistants) – WINNER
- Bad Sisters – Nina Gold & Lucy Amos
- House of the Dragon – Kate Rhodes-James, Gordon Cowell & Gabriella Summer Wolf (Associates)
- Sherwood – Victor Jenkins, Seth Mason (Associate), Paushali Banik & Laura Macfadden (Assistants)
- Slow Horses (Series 1) – Nina Gold, Kate Bone (Associate)
Best Casting in an Independent Film
Sponsored by Independent Talent Group
- Boiling Point – Carolyn McLeod, Matt Sheppard (Assistant) – WINNER
- Ali & Ava – Shaheen Baig
- Brian & Charles – Catherine Willis
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande – Amy Hubbard, Olivia Laydon (Associate)
- Pirates – Shaheen Baig, Jonny Boutwood (Associate)
Best Casting in a Film
Sponsored by Warner Bros. Discovery
- The Lost Daughter – Kahleen Crawford, Carla Morris (Assistant) – WINNER
- Belfast – Lucy Bevan & Emily Brockmann, Katie Brydon (Associate)
- House of Gucci – Kate Rhodes-James, Gordon Cowell & Gabriella Summer Wolf (Associates)
- No Time to Die – Debbie McWilliams & Jemima McWilliams
- Spencer – Amy Hubbard, Olivia Laydon & Heidi Lawry (Associates)
Best Casting in Regional Theatre
In partnership with Factory International
- East is East, Birmingham Rep, National Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre – Stuart Burt, Olivia Barr (Associate) – WINNER
- Crazy For You, Chichester Festival Theatre – Jill Green
- Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, UK Tour – Rosie Pearson & James Pearson
- Into the Woods, Theatre Royal Bath and Scenario Two Ltd – David Grindrod
- Rock / Paper / Scissors, Sheffield Theatres – Christopher Worrall, Stuart Burt (Casting Consultant)
Best Casting in Theatre (Inside M25)
Sponsored by The Partnership Group
- Our Generation, National Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre – Charlotte Sutton – WINNER
- Jerusalem, Apollo Theatre – Amy Ball & Arthur Carrington
- Red Pitch, Bush Theatre – Heather Basten
- The Normal Heart, National Theatre (Olivier) – Alastair Coomer
- To Kill a Mockingbird, Gielgud Theatre – Serena Hill
Best Child Casting (All Media)
In partnership with AYPA (Agents of Young Performers Association)
- Belfast – Lucy Bevan & Emily Brockmann, Katie Brydon (Associate) – WINNER
- Bugsy Malone The Musical, UK Tour – Verity Naughton, Nicholas Hockaday (Assistant)
- Frozen The Musical, Theatre Royal Drury Lane – Verity Naughton, Nicholas Hockaday (Assistant)
- My Name is Leon – Aisha Bywaters
- School of Rock The Musical, UK Tour – Verity Naughton, Nicholas Hockaday (Assistant)
Spotlight’s Managing Director, Matt Hood commented, “It’s been a real privilege for Spotlight to be supporting The CDG, once again, for the 5th annual CDG Casting Awards. Whilst casting is a broad and varied profession across many different art forms, what unites the members of this often overlooked role in the industry is the passion, expertise and creativity required to bring incredible casts together. These awards are not superficial, they are here to remind us of the irreplaceable role of this profession in artistic and commercial successes. A huge congratulations to all the winners this year!”.
Read all the latest award news.
The nominated productions premiered between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 and have been selected by members of the Casting Directors’ Guild who went on to vote for the category winners.
Photo credit: Scarlet Page
