Get to Know the Casting Director: Kim Williams

Casting Society of America (CSA) recently appointed its current board of directors, and this installment of Get to Know the Casting Director will be featuring the organization’s new president. Kim Williams also holds the title of vice president of casting at Disney Television Studios, a role through which she’s overseen the casting of projects such as National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha and Showtime’s The Chi. She also recently cast the upcoming Freeform series Single Drunk Female. With a busy slate, Williams still found time to virtually sit down with Casting Networks and share a window into the person behind all the credits, as well as her plans for the organization she now helms.

It’s great to virtually see you, Kim, and congrats on recently being elected president of CSA! Can you share any goals for the organization that you aim to accomplish?

First of all, let me just say that it’s such an honor to be in this position and to be able to do it alongside many of my peers, people who love and respect their work. As for my goals, I’ll share three. The first is to continue elevating the presence of casting directors across the industry. I really feel strongly that our contributions are so important, and for some reason, we don’t seem to get the respect that I think is deserved for our work and efforts to make projects successful. My second goal is to expand our ranks in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion. That includes bringing into CSA more casting directors from underrepresented groups or from groups that just haven’t been given opportunities in the past. And thirdly, I want to help blaze the trail for those coming behind us. The idea is to accomplish my first two goals, addressing the issues they reflect so that when the next board of directors comes in, the conversation will have shifted to something completely different. They can focus on whatever new issues present themselves rather than still dealing with these. 

I’m excited about what you’ll do for CSA through your new role! You’ve carried the title of vice president of casting at Disney Television Studios since 2019, which includes overseeing a lot of casting. Can you describe what that role entails?

My primary function is to be the casting voice for the studio, which begins at the inception of a project. I sit in on pitch meetings and then follow the project through the development process with the producers. And then once the show is in either the pilot or series phase, I continue to liaise between the studio and whatever platform on which the show is releasing. So as the casting process is happening, I make sure that the needs of both parties are being met, as well as help drive our point of view and perspective.

Thanks for providing a window into what you do at such a high level of casting. Taking it back to the start of things, can you share the moment you knew that casting was the job for you?

Well, for me, it happened the very first day of my very first casting job. I had just started interning for Reuben Cannon, who was casting a film that Steven Spielberg was producing, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. An actor who was booked to play a role that filmed at the end of the week fell through, and Reuben just rattled off the names of 10 actors who could step in as a replacement, just right off the top of his head. I had no idea how he did it, but I remember thinking that I wanted to have that ability, too. And that’s when I got bit by the casting bug. It probably didn’t hurt that I answered the call from Steven Spielberg, either. [Laughs] So that was the moment for me.

Wow. That was one great first day of an internship! And I’m going to pivot here to my favorite question to ask casting. If someone made a film about your life story, which actor would you cast to play the role of Kim Williams?

Oh, now there’s a good question. I’m going to say Regina King because she can do comedy and drama. She’s funny, she’s fun, she likes to travel, she likes good food, she’s passionate about the business, she’s smart, and she’s savvy. Yes, it would be Regina King. And if we were doing the younger version of me, it would be Zendaya. I know we look nothing alike or any of that — same with Regina — but I’ve been such a huge fan of hers for forever because of how she is able to transform again and again. And both of them are Cali girls like me. I’m from LA, born and raised.

Those are some fantastic choices. Before we wrap, I’d love to hear what inspires your casting work.

For me, it’s the actors. And great scripts, as well as great characters, inspire me, too. Our job is taking the written word and translating it into human form so that’s where the magic is: finding those beautiful stories and beautiful characters and helping bring them to life. That’s why I love meeting actors and just getting to know them. The casting process is such a tricky thing so it’s a great feeling to remember an actor I’ve met who’s the perfect person for a role we’re casting. Watching great projects is a source of inspiration as well. I can sit and watch movies all day and all night long. When I go to festivals, that’s exactly what I do, because I love the feeling of entering into different worlds to experience the characters in each story. It fuels my creative flames and desire for the work that we do. I just love film and television so much. 

Considering Williams’ passion for film and TV, we had to get her current watchlist. She dropped titles like CBS’ Perry Mason and NBC’s Columbo as throwback series she was enjoying, as well as recent films such as Janicza Bravo’s Zola. And next up on Williams’ list is Edson Oda’s Nine Days, Leos Carax’s Annette and Michael Sarnoski’s Pig. Those interested in learning more about the casting director and newly-appointed president of CSA can check out her page on Instagram, a platform she noted as her primary social media outlet.

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This interview has been edited and condensed. 

 
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