Yahoo Lifestyle Casting Directors Reveal How Jonathan Bailey Almost Missed Out on ‘Wicked’ and Why Emma Corrin Made the Perfect ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Villain
Emma Corrin had never before played a baddie or ventured into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But when “Deadpool & Wolverine” casting director Sarah Halley Finn came across the British actor — best known for the films “My Policeman” and “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and playing Princess Diana on “The Crown” — she knew she had found someone who could hold their own opposite the film’s stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Cassandra Nova, the villainous twin sister of Charles Xavier.
“The villain had so many aspects that encompassed their power in a unique and fresh way,” says Finn, who’s nominated for the film at this year’s Artios Awards in the feature: big budget comedy category. “I loved what [Corrin] did with that role and how they brought it to life.”
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Finn is no stranger to casting for the MCU. Her credits include “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Black Panther” and all three “Iron Man” films. But she still had a hard time finding the right person to play “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” Mr. Paradox.
Finn held auditions, going back and forth looking for someone audiences would not only love to hate, but also be charmed by. And she kept returning to Matthew Macadyen (HBO’s “Succession”).
“We knew he was going to have a lot of scenes with some heavyhitters,” says Finn of the actor who would play the character. “He would have to be able to exert power and have this wonderful ability to be funny, intelligent at times, and so ridiculous. We would have to believe and follow him, and that’s when we came back to Matthew. He had everything we wanted.”
The same can be said of casting director Bernard Telsey, who received an Artios nomination for “Wicked.” He and fellow casting director Tiffany Little Canfield had to fill their ensemble with dancers of different shapes, sizes and ethnicities to play the students at Shiz University.
Despite his Rolodex of actors, Telsey says casting Elphaba’s younger sister Nessarose proved a challenge. “Trying to find young talent, people who are wheelchair users and singers and actors at that age is not going to be people I know necessarily,” says Telsey, who was part of the casting process for the original Broadway musical “Wicked” over 25 years ago.
Adding to the challenge was the fact that they couldn’t move forward with casting Nessarose until they had filled the role of Elphaba. When Cynthia Erivo landed the latter part, Marissa Bode was brought on as Nessarose.
With casting sessions held in London (where the film shot) and New York, Telsey was able to sprinkle the supporting cast with actors from West End musicals, including Adam Nyman (The Governor), who appeared in a 2019 revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and Alice Fearn, who previously played Glinda’s mother on stage in “Wicked” from 2017 to 2019.
Circumstances almost kept another British stage star from play the key role of Fiyero in “Wicked.” Telsey had met Jonathan Bailey a few years earlier after the actor had starred in Marianne Elliott’s gender-swapped West End production of the musical “Company.” “He’s so charming, talented, and he’s so Fiyero,” says Telsey of Bailey.
But Bailey wasn’t available, so they embarked on what turned out to be months of auditions, none of which produced a satisfactory Fiyero. Then COVID pushed back every project, including some shows that Bailey was attached to. “I think it might have been one of the last principals [cast],” says Telsey of Fiyero, “But it all worked out,.”
And that is what lies at the heart of the craft of casting.
Finn says, “It’s about making one seamless world and having every element be fresh and wildly entertaining.”
The Artios Awards will be held on Feb. 12 in London, Los Angeles and New York.
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