Central Casting

What Central Casting does

Central Casting, founded in 1925 and headquartered in Burbank, California, is the dominant background actor casting firm in the United States, operating the country's largest and most diverse database of background actors, stand-ins, and doubles. The company serves film, television, and commercial productions by sourcing, vetting, and dispatching background talent, with physical offices in Burbank, New York, Atlanta, and New Orleans, and casting service availability extended across all 50 US states. Central Casting is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entertainment Partners (EP), the global production finance and payroll company, and the two operate an integrated go-to-market under EP's production services umbrella.

The technology platform centers on the EP Casting Portal, a cloud-based casting management system that allows productions to search, book, and manage background talent, paired with SmartVoucher, EP's digital background voucher system that handles tracking, compliance, and payroll for background actors within EP's broader production finance infrastructure. Supporting products include Production Driven Casting, which unifies hiring, tracking, and payment in one workflow, and Premium Casting for specialty and period work. Talent self-registers for free through the consumer-facing website, uploading profiles with measurements, photos, and special skills, while production companies access the casting portal on an enterprise basis.

Revenue is generated from production companies paying for casting coordination, talent matching, on-set management, and integrated payroll processing through SmartVoucher; background actors register at no cost. The customer base spans essentially all major US studios and streamers — including Apple Studios, Amazon Studios, 20th Television, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros. Discovery/HBO, Sony Pictures, and Lionsgate — with the company booking hundreds of background actors daily across active productions. Headcount is reported at 101-250 employees, consistent with a mid-sized specialized services firm embedded in a larger parent organization.

Name

Central Casting

Legal name

Central Casting

Website

https://centralcasting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Central Casting is the largest US background actor casting firm, connecting film, television, and commercial productions with its nationwide database of background talent, stand-ins, and doubles across all 50 states. It operates as a subsidiary of Entertainment Partners, offering integrated casting, payroll, and production workflow services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Background Casting Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Casting & Auditions (Casting Directors, Open Calls) (HSACAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Casting & Talent Services (Casting, Background, Talent Holding) (MPADAFAI), Talent Agency & Representation Services (HSACAHAK)

Keywords

• Background actor casting
• Talent casting services
• Film production casting
• Television casting agency
• Production payroll services

Headquarters

HQ city

Burbank

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Casting Services to Productions: Central Casting generates revenue by providing background casting services to film, television, and commercial productions. Productions pay for access to the talent database, casting coordination, on-set management, and integrated payroll processing through SmartVoucher.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Central Casting provides background actor casting services for film, television, and commercial productions across all 50 US states. The company operates the largest and most diverse database of background actors, stand-ins, and doubles in the United States, connecting productions with talent through an integrated casting portal and SmartVoucher digital payroll platform. Productions pay for access to the talent database, casting coordination, on-set management, and integrated payroll processing, while talent register for free.

Product overview

Central Casting operates as a unified background actor casting platform offering services across all 50 US states. The core Central Casting platform connects productions with background talent, while SmartVoucher provides the digital payment and voucher infrastructure. The product suite includes Premium Casting for specialty roles, Production Driven Casting for integrated production management, and the EP Casting Portal for web-based access. All services are backed by Entertainment Partners' technology infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartVoucher: EP's digital background voucher system for tracking, managing and paying background actors accurately, compliantly and on time.
• Production Driven Casting
• Premium Casting
• EP Casting Portal

Products and services

• Central Casting Background Casting Services Core background actor casting platform and service that connects film, television, and commercial productions with background talent (extras, stand-ins, and doubles) across all 50 US states, supported by offices in Burbank, New York, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
• SmartVoucher Digital background voucher platform that enables productions to track, manage, and pay background actors accurately, compliantly, and on time, integrated with Entertainment Partners' payroll infrastructure.
• Premium Casting Specialized casting service for premium projects including hiring minor background actors and other specialty roles requiring specific requirements.
• Production Driven Casting Integrated casting platform enabling productions to hire, manage, track, and pay background actors with full visibility across the casting process.
• EP Casting Portal Web-based casting portal providing productions access to manage casting operations, background actor selection, and production coordination.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hired approximately 14,000 background actors for The Ten Commandments (1956)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Entertainment PartnerscoreOthersEntertainment Partners acquired Central Casting as part of its expansion into casting technology solutions. Central Casting operates as a subsidiary within EP's portfolio, combining 100 years of background casting expertise with EP's production finance, payroll, and technology platform. EP's CEO Mark Goldstein oversees Central Casting operations and has invested in technology including SmartVoucher digital vouchers for integrated background actor payroll processing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Casting Networks: Direct competitor operating a digital self-service casting platform for actors including background roles, with profiles, audition submissions, and a competing talent database used by productions nationwide.
• Backstage: Casting platform and talent marketplace used by productions to source actors for background and speaking roles; competes on the digital self-service end of the casting market.
• Breakdown Services (Actors Access): Long-standing casting notice and actor submission platform serving background and principal casting, directly competing for the same talent-pool and production-customer workflows as Central Casting.

Broad incumbents

• CAA (Creative Artists Agency): Major Hollywood talent agency representing principal actors, directors, and writers; serves the same studio customers as Central Casting but in the higher-value principal talent representation segment.
• Entertainment Partners: Parent company and broader production services platform providing payroll, finance, and tax incentive management for productions globally — owns Central Casting and operates adjacent services that overlap in customer base.
• Cast & Crew: Major production payroll and workforce management company serving film, TV, and live events; broad incumbent competing with EP for production-side services that intersect with background casting workflows.

Emerging players

• Wrapbook: Modern production payroll and cost management platform gaining traction with productions; an emerging competitor to EP's payroll stack that, if extended, could intersect with Central Casting's SmartVoucher wedge.

Regional players

• Extraordinary Casting: Regional background casting agency serving specific U.S. production markets, offering an alternative to Central Casting for productions seeking localized casting talent pools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CentralCasting
• Facebookfacebook.com/centralcasting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Central Casting