Member Lens: Casting Director & Spirit Award Winner Nicole Arbusto
Our ongoing Member Lens feature spotlights current Film Independent Members to see how they got started, where they are now and what being part of Film Independent means to them. This month: Casting Director Nicole Arbusto.
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Nicole Arbusto loved theater & studied acting, but realized quickly that acting wasn’t for her. Still determined to be in the drama business, she worked at a theater in New York where she was introduced to casting. It was a perfect fit for someone who loved the art of acting and actors.
Throughout the years she’s worked in TV and film and fostered a relationship with director Azazel Jacobs, that started with 2011’s Terri, and most recently His Three Daughters (2024) which won her and her cast the Robert Altman Award at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards.
We spoke with her earlier this month about the award, the importance of casting smaller roles, and why she loves to share her experiences with the Film Independent community.
Let’s start with your background. Where are you from, and what drew you to film in the first place?
I’m from New York originally, and I got interested in casting when I was working at a theater in New York. When I started working in casting, I originally worked at a studio for a casting director named Wally Nicita who worked only in film. So it happened naturally
And how did you get the theater bug?
I was a theater major in college and started out I had done some acting in high school and a little bit in college I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t want to be an actor, and I couldn’t really figure out where I would fit in that world. After college I was working in a literary department at a theater, and it was during the summer when it was pretty quiet in the lit department, but they did do a lot of play readings. And I ended up talking to the casting director a lot about who was going to be in the readings and how that process worked, and how did he decide on who was going to be in the readings, and that’s how I got interested.
And then when did you first become aware of Film Independent?
Oh, gosh. I mean, definitely 20 years ago or so.
When Josh passed, I was trying to think of how long I had known Josh for, and I definitely found emails from him from 2005. So a long time.
And how did you first come across Film Independent? Was it through Josh or through something else?
I’m not sure how I initially became a member, to be honest.
I’ve been a member for a really long time, and I think in the early days, I was just going to screenings and going to events, and I think Josh was the first person that reached out and asked me to either do a panel or help with Project Involve, casting somebody’s short.
You’ve done so much work with us, from working with Project Involved to even last year when you were on a panel with us. What appeals to you about fostering a new generation of filmmakers?
Well, I just think that, like any industry, there’s a little bit of gatekeeping, and I think anything you can do to sort of demystify that is important. When I first started in the business, the way I met my first boss and got my first job in casting with Wally Nicita was through somebody who knew somebody who knew her. You know, it’s those kinds of relationships that kind of give you your start.
And meeting other people in the business and having the freedom to ask them questions or how things work, that’s how you learn. There are certain things you’re going to learn in school or in college, but other things, they’re a little bit immutable and you’re going to kind of learn them from being able to ask somebody in the business questions.
Yeah, and you’re right. It’s great that people like you are willing to reach out and help people with that. So thank you.
I’d love to ask you a couple questions about your Spirit Award-winning film, His Three Daughters. What was it like getting that cast together?
Well, I think in the process with His Three Daughters was very different from other films that I’ve worked on with Azazel Jacobs. Because this was the first film that we worked on together where he wrote the parts specifically for those three women. So it wasn’t a traditional casting process for the leads. It was always going to be those three women and that’s it.
So luckily there were already relationships in place, basically, with each of them. That was more about just getting them the script and seeing if they responded and then working out sort of the timing for three busy actresses.
Tell me what it felt like when you heard that you won the Spirit Award because obviously the Altman Award is one of the few awards out there for casting, so it’s unique in that way.
Well, it was just incredibly surprising and I think the thing that’s so nice about the Altman Award, it’s a great honor, but I love that it includes an ensemble because even with a film like His Three Daughters with a really small cast, for me, it’s the supporting roles really impact a film and those are always the parts that I really enjoy casting the most.
When I go to see a film, I’m always looking at the person that played the waiter or the person that played the teacher, the roles that really create the world of the film. Even with something like His Three Daughters where you’re really inside most of the film, we spent a fair amount of time casting the role of Victor (played by Jose Febus), the building manager who only interacts with Natasha, who’s always smoking pot outside on the building property. I think a part like that becomes really important because he’s one of the only people you see on the streets of New York. So, a part like that becomes really important because he’s representative of the city and of the other inhabitants of the building.
So what was great about winning The Altman is to have really everybody included. Especially since, you know, filmmaking is such a collaborative effort.
Absolutely.
What is one of your favorite parts about being a Film Independent member?
Well, I love going to the screenings and hearing the Q&As after. The last one I went to was for Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, and it’s a really interesting film with incredible performances, especially from the young girl who plays the youngest daughter.
But it was fascinating to hear Embeth Davidtz talk about her process, especially since I know her so well as an actress, and to hear her talk about her work as a director and her connection to the material and how she developed it and working with actors. It’s just great to have that kind of insight into a process.
That’s great. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed speaking with you today.
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