Casting Experiences

Thank you to Not A Pushy Mum.Com for these audition stories that reveal the casting process for "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" in 2004.

The first audition

"When I auditioned for 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', I felt very nervous because it was my first ever film casting.

We went to the address that we were told, in Notting Hill, London, where we waited with about 3 other families. We registered that we had arrived with a lady that sat at a table, and she gave me a sticker with my name on. A little while later, Pippa Hall , the casting director, came over to me and introduced herself. She then took me upstairs with another boy and told us about the film. The other boy I went up with, was interviewed first, and was recorded on a video camera. Then I was interviewed. Pippa asked me what I liked, disliked, what I was like at school, and at home, and about my performing history. By the time we had finished, she had made me feel really relaxed!

On the way back downstairs, Pippa explained that the tapes were going to Andrew Adamson [the Director] in America, and that if we had a recall, we would hear within the month.
I didn't hear anything though..."

David (13)

The Recall

"But I did... I had a recall at a hotel in Kensington. I was very excited but I didn't know what to expect. It was my first film recall. I went up to London on the train with my Mum. We were nearly late because we had to wait so long at Gloucester Road tube for a Circle line to High St Ken. In the end Mum got a taxi and we walked in just as all the boys were going in for the casting.

The room had three men sitting behind a desk and a camera. One of the men was the director, Andrew Adamson. There was a lady who told us what to do. Nobody knew each other but it didn't matter. We did some loose warm ups, like moving our tongues up and down to the James Bond theme tune!!! We were split in to two groups and had to work together to make a picture that the lady gave us a title for, the first was 'hide and seek'. The second one was 'Victorious in battle', but we also had to link to someone else in some way, a hand, a foot, an arm or whatever. The men walked round looking at us and we had to be dead still in our freeze frame picture.

We also did stuff with people in groups of three in front of the camera. At the end of the hour together I felt more relaxed and had become friends with some of the other boys. It was great. We were told at the end by Pippa Hall that we would get a letter the next day if she wanted us back that week.

I didn't get a letter."

Harry (13)

The Second Recall

"But I did! and I was recalled to read parts of the script in front of the Director Andrew Adamson, Casting Director Pippa Hall and Producer Mark Johnson on camera. We were grouped together as a family of four children, and then called in to read through six different scenes from the screenplay. They kept asking us to read it in different ways and react differently and I found it really easy. They told us the footage would be sent off to Walt Disney in America WOW!! I found out afterwards that there were only three of us auditioning for Lucy so I had a good chance.

Every day after school I would ask mum or dad whether or not the agency had rang us, but they always seemed to say NO! All my friends and family where really supportive as they were also going through a tough stage as one of them might have to take me to New Zealand for five months. Then I came home from school about five weeks later and said, "Have you heard from the agency Mum or Dad", and they replied saying yes and by the look on Mums face I knew it was a NO. They felt that I looked too old for Lucy and not old enough for Susan. I was extremely upset, as this was so important and I was down for 2-3 days."

Charlotte (12)