Casting Director Alyssa on Casting Avengers: Infinity War

By now you’ve probably seen Avengers: Infinity War. If not, don’t worry, this video is spoiler free! We talked to Central Casting Georgia Casting Director Alyssa J. to find out what it was like casting Infinity War.

Casting a movie as big as Avengers: Infinity War came with a lot of challenges: long shoots, crazy schedules, and a sprawling cast of over fifty principal actors. Over a hundred Stand-Ins were hired to accommodate a cast that large. For some characters, booking the right Stand-In meant finding someone who matched the actor in height, hair color, and complexion. For others, like Rocket and Thanos, there was a little more to it.

“For Rocket, [production was] looking for someone who was a contortionist or very flexible because we needed our Stand-In to crab crawl for most of filming to be the right height,” Alyssa said. “For Thanos, who’s heavily CGI, our Stand-In had to use a motion capture suit, which almost looks like pajamas with dots all over them. There was never a dull moment when it came to casting Stand-Ins for this one.”

Infinity War brings together many unique worlds from the Marvel universe, most of which have never crossed over between movies. It was important to get the look right for each planet so they each uniquely stood out from the other worlds.

“It was essential to hone in on the looks and the unique features [of each category] so we could really sell that they were a part of different planets,” Alyssa said. “For the alien types, like Gamora’s people and the Titans, they required heavy special effects makeup and prosthetics. A unique challenge there was to find men, and occasionally women, who were willing to shave their heads bald, as that makes the prosthetic application a lot easier.”

For Alyssa, casting Infinity War wasn’t just a great working experience, but was exciting because she’s a Marvel fan.

“I’m a huge Marvel fan, my brother is actually the reason I started watching these movies, so I really owe it all to him,” she said. “When I first started prep on this project in 2016, I re-watched every single Marvel movie that had come out by that time. While they’re all amazing, Avengers: Infinity War is definitely my favorite, so if you haven’t watched it yet, make sure you get out to the theater to see what all the buzz is about.”

Want a chance to work on a Marvel film or other projects cast by Central Casting? The first step is to register at our Los Angeles, New York, Georgia, or Louisiana offices.

“It’s very important that you keep your photos up to date,” Alyssa said. “If anything changes about your look, make sure you update your pictures. When we are casting featured roles or specialty roles, we are often sending pictures to directors and producers. We want to make sure we’re sending the best possible picture of you so you can be considered for those really cool parts.”

Alyssa also cast Avengers: Endgame that will premiere next year. Check back then for more stories on casting Infinity War!