Personal Narrative: An Interview With Justin Nichols

My informational interview with Justin Nichols taught me a lot more about unscripted casting and showed me how everyone’s path to success in the entertainment industry is unique. Although I had met professionals in television who did not think about having a career in the industry until after college, almost all of them broke into the TV business as assistants for executives. Justin’s path is extremely interesting because he had never worked in television, but his personality and networking strengths led him to producer job for his first job in the industry. Despite Justin’s lack of experience in television, he intelligently recognized his skills from previous jobs that would be useful in casting, such as his friendliness, his interviewing experience, and his ability to relate to people. Speaking with Justin about his path to being a Casting Producer assured me that there is no one “right way”
In my internships and on-campus experiences, I have mostly worked in production and development. I am unfamiliar with the ins and outs of casting for scripted and unscripted projects. Before speaking with Justin, I did not know how different it was to cast for unscripted versus scripted TV or film. I was surprised to learn that nearly all unscripted casting producers search for talent on their own, rather than choose from a pool of interested applicants. Previously, I thought that unscripted casting producers would watch hundreds or thousands of casting tapes and then narrow down their pool to an eventual cast. However, Justin’s job entails that and more because he has to find talent, reach out to potential cast members for interviews, schedule interviews with them, and then decide who he wants to proceed with. As Justin mentioned, it is much harder to find a strong cast in today’s television landscape because the reality television world is so saturated, and many potential stars are