SYNOPSIS
Please prepare a read of two minutes or less from a film or televsion show.
CASTING DIRECTOR BIO
Leah Daniels-Butler is a casting director and producer responsible for launching the careers of talented actors like Gaborey Sidebe, star of the Academy Award winning film "Precious", and other notables. She currently serves as Casting Director for television's #1 show, "Empire" on Fox.
Leah began her career as a casting assistant in 1991 working for legendary casting director and mentor
Jaki Brown and Kimberly Hardin. Under their leadership, she assisted in casting actor/recording star
Tyrese Gibson in the Coca-Cola ad that launched his career, which now includes two-blockbuster movie
franchises, ”Transformers" & "Fast & Furious.”
In 1994, Leah landed a coveted casting position as the assistant to Leslie Litt, Senior VP of Casting at
Warner Brothers. Within two years Leah earned a promotion to casting executive and began working on
award-winning projects like "Friends" starring Jennifer Anniston and "Suddenly Susan" starring Brooke
Shields. Both shows earned Primetime Emmy Awards for acting roles. During her tenure at Warner
Brothers, Leah also cast "The Wayans Brothers" and "For Your Love,” which received six NAACP Image
Awards nominations.
In 2001, Leah left WBTV to start LDB Casting, the company she owns and operates today. As an
independent casting director, Leah works across genres securing talent for films like "2 Fast 2 Furious,”
"Shadow Boxer,” “ATL,” and "The Paperboy,” which showcased an all-star cast that included: Matthew
McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, John Cusack, Macy Grey and David Oyelowo. In 2013, Leah
cast the award-winning film “The Butler” with another all-star line-up that included: Oprah Winfrey,
Forrest Whitaker, Liev Shreiber, Robin Williams, James Marsden, John Cusack, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
Terrence Howard and rising star YaYa DaCosta.
Among her many accolades, Leah is the recipient of the Hamilton Award for Outstanding Casting for her
work on “The Butler,” and the Casting Society of America’s “Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a
Television Drama” award for her work on “Empire.” The Casting Society of America recently appointed
her to its board of directors, where she serves as the only African-American member of the board.
REQUIREMENTS
You must have completed a Casting Access Application prior to registering for this workshop.
Please note that the 90-day frequency restriction applies to this workshop. Your last frequency-restricted workshop must have taken place no less than 90 (ninety) days prior to this event to be eligible to register.
NO LATE ARRIVALS and NO WALK-INS are admitted. Only those participants who have received a telephoned or e-mailed confirmation message from staff will be admitted to the session. Waitlisted individuals who have not received such confirmation will not be admitted at the door. Please do not show up if you have not been explicitly confirmed as RSVPed.
