Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

 

Phoebe

Our aim when directing and producing the opening to our psychological thriller was to find a teenage girl who looked older, like a mother would. She is meant to appear as this perfect mother, paying close attention to her relationship with Olivia.

We had a decision between two girls to play the part of Phoebe, the unpredictable mother, with a sense of ambiguity about her:

Bella Thompson - our first auditionee was Bella, suggested due to her knowledge about acting and drama. Bella also offered confidence when it came to acting and was keen to be a part of the opening. The only problem was her appearance, being fair haired and owning a pale complexion displays youth and innocence. Also her physique doesn't match the one of a mothers, and so we decided not to give her the part.

Phoebe Symington - We liked Phoebe due to her past experience in both media and drama studies; this was an attractive quality because she had the confidence when acting, which was necessary in the major role of the opening. Phoebe also looked older than Bella, more mature and capable of damage. So we chose Phoebe as she fitted both the categories that Bella didn't.

Ben

For the male protagonist, the father of Olivia we were looking for a weaker character. They had to look old enough and manly enough to be married and to have children but ultimately the character of Ben had to be a weaker and less significant figure in comparison to the mother, so that there would be a sense of her holding the control.

Ben Gage - our first auditionee impressed us with his acting skills despite his lack of experience. It was an advantage, in act, that he was shy because his character was supposed to slightly shadow the relationship shared between Phoebe and Olivia. Ben also looked older than the other boys we auditioned, but although he had the physique of a man, there was something endearing and kind about his face so we decided he fit the cut perfectly in comparison to the others.

Luke Potts - Luke also had the physique we were looking for, but somewhat  lacked the acting skills we were looking for. His character seemed slightly too dominant over Phoebe's therefore we decided to go with Ben. Also look was at a lower availability then Ben for filming time.