" I was wrong . "
Renowned casting directorKharmel Cochraneis opening up about some of her casting decisions, including one she was strongly against and another she fully supports.
If there was a popular project out in the last few years, Kharmel might have had something to do with it. She casts for film, TV, commercials, music videos, and shorts. Some of her most popular work includesNosferatu,Saltburn,A Quiet Place: Day One,Bob Marley: One Love,The End of the F***ing World,Rye Lane,The Witch,The Lighthouse,John Wick: Chapter 4, and more.
Over the weekend, Kharmel participated in a Q&A session at Scotland’s Sands Film Festival where she explained why she needed to apologize toLily-Rose Deppafter initially dismissing her as a serious contender for the leading role of Ellen Hutter in the 2024 American horror gothic filmNosferatu.
“I had to text Lily-Rose Depp and say I’m sorry,” Kharmel saidper Deadline, before shedding light on the casting process. “I had said absolutely no way to Lily-Rose Depp. I didn’t think she could act.”
“I hadn’t seen anything that I thought showed she could act. And I’m not even bothered by the nepotism thing. I think that’s a whole other conversation. And then she auditioned. I was wrong. And I’ve got no shame in saying if I’m not right.”
The 25-year-old actor went on to prove a lot of the naysayers wrong with this film. She starred alongside Bill Skarsgård, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicholas Hoult, and Willem Dafoe. The film raked inover $100 millionworldwide, becoming Focus Features’ second highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office, behindBrokeback Mountain.
I truly appreciate her honesty. Instead of writing her off entirely due to her preconceived notions about Lily-Rose, she gave her a fair audition and was ultimatelyblown awayby her acting abilities.
