Sarah Halley Finn is brilliant. A genius.
For those who don’t know how this works.
Finn is the casting director for the entire MCU. She’s one of the very few people who has been involved in all 22 movies.
Her job is to take the director’s vision of a character and find the right talent to fill that. In some cases the director may already have somebody in mind, in which case she is the one who contacts the agent, etc.
Most of the time, though, Finn and those like her contact various talent agencies and online services to put out a call.
So, let’s say our director is looking for a Caucasian male, in his late twenties. He needs somebody who is physically imposing. (He generally wouldn’t specify hair color because that can be easily changed). Oh, and he wants a non-standard accent, maybe Australian? Kiwi? Somebody who doesn’t sound American.
The casting director would use various tools to find a short list of men who fit this description. Eventually, she would present the director with the short list, they sign off on it, and some or all of those men get called in for an audition.
The director auditions the prospects and makes the final decision, but who is in the lineup is entirely on the casting director.
“Okay, I like this guy” *points to Chris Hemsworth* “Let’s go with him.”
People would not watch these movies because of who was in them.
Somebody involved knew that what they needed to do was attract a core of fans over from the comics. Comics readers are a minority, but we’re voracious. And when we like something, we tell our friends.
So, instead of a big name who would be there to be a big name, she talked Jon Favreau into casting Downey. Who was, yes, right out of rehab. But he looked like Tony Stark and, on top of that, Tony Stark was also an alcoholic. Downey could, and did, bring his own struggles and lived experience to the role. (”I love you 3,000″ came from HIS kids).
From the moment he stepped on screen, Downey was Tony Stark. Because Finn said “Screw fame and past records, let’s cast people who look like these established characters.” (Mis-steps such as Scarlet Witch aside…that wasn’t her decision, but at the writing level).
These characters that already have a fan base. They knew that comics people read books for the characters and would watch movies for the characters. Whether Finn was the one who came to this realization or “just” the one that put it into motion…doesn’t matter.
The casting philosophy of the MCU is not “Who will get people in the door” but “Who best embodies the spirit of these characters.”
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