Central Casting's Background Casting and Payroll Services: One Partner, One Platform, All 50 States
Central Casting is now available in all 50 states, bringing over a century of industry leadership and background casting and payroll services everywhere your production takes you.
Whether you're managing a television series in a major production hub, coordinating a feature film across multiple locations or need background actors in a market you haven’t filmed in before, the same Central Casting expertise, technology and support that productions of every size rely on are now available across the United States. And because casting, vouchers and payroll are part of one integrated platform, there are no handoffs between vendors, no reconciliation headaches and one accountable team to call.
Background Casting and Payroll Services Built for Every Production
Building a scene is more than just picking the right location or creating the perfect set —it’s also about filling the frame with background actors who fit the exact look you need to bring it all together. Need a very specific look for a featured role, or a wide variety of looks for a large call? Central Casting has you covered.
Here's how your production can benefit from Central Casting's industry-leading background casting services.
Premium Casting
With Premium Casting, Central Casting’s casting directors manage every step of the casting process. You show up to set.
Central Casting is the only background casting company in the US operating as a Common Law Employer. In Premium Casting states, we are a co-employer with your studio and handle the Form I-9 intake, provide legally-required anti-harassment training and sick leave administration, and oversee off-production wage and hour compliance and recordkeeping, relieving your studio from these duties and ensuring your production is protected.
Premium Casting services include:
- Dedicated casting directors. Our casting professionals manage the full casting process and bring unmatched knowledge to place the right talent in the right scenes — every time.
- The largest background talent database. Central Casting maintains the most comprehensive and diverse background actor database in the industry, giving your production access to a vast, varied pool of professional talent.
- Casting Portal and SmartVoucher. The most advanced technology in the industry streamlines every step of the background casting and payroll process, so your team spends less time managing paperwork and more time focused on production.
- The entertainment industry’s leading payroll provider. With Entertainment Partners’ casting payroll services, you can trust that the background actors hired on your production will be paid accurately, compliantly and on time.
Premium Casting is available in: California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Louisiana.
Production Driven Casting
With Production Driven Casting, your team stays in the driver's seat, selecting and booking background talent directly through the industry's most advanced casting technology, backed by dedicated casting directors and the industry's leading payroll provider. The creative vision stays yours. Central Casting gives you the tools and support to bring that vision to life.
Production Driven Casting delivers:
- Creative control in your hands. Your production team selects the background talent that defines the look and feel of your show, without handing off that creative vision to someone else.
- Industry-leading casting technology. Using the Casting Portal, the most advanced casting technology in the industry, your team selects, books and manages background talent using online Lookbooks curated specifically for your production based on your specifications. And with SmartVoucher, the leading digital background voucher, casting, management and payroll of your background talent are handled in one integrated platform.
- Casting experts. Central Casting’s casting directors have a deep understanding of what it takes to bring a production to life and are available to support and scale your team's creative decisions, not replace them.
- The entertainment industry’s leading payroll provider. EP's payroll team processes edits within 48 hours, with built-in reviews from experienced paymasters and clear, production-ready cost reporting tied directly to your voucher data.
Production Driven Casting is available in: All states outside of California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Louisiana.
Payroll with SmartVoucher
Already have your background casting handled? We can help you with the payroll.
Central Casting’s Payroll with SmartVoucher option is designed for productions that have casting covered but need a faster, more reliable payroll solution to go with it.
SmartVoucher is the most advanced digital voucher processing platform, fully integrated into EP Payroll, all for one price. That integration means payroll begins processing from the moment vouchers are electronically submitted. There’s no manual re-entry and no reconciliation between disconnected vendors.
Choosing Payroll with SmartVoucher, you get:
- Streamlined check-in and wrap. Check in and wrap background talent with the click of a button. With SmartVoucher, your production and accounting teams have clear insight into background actor status, meaning there's no guesswork about where each voucher stands in the workflow.
- Automated calculations. Meal penalties, allowances, adjustments and other fields are automatically calculated with state or union regulations relative to where your production is filming.
- Production-ready cost reporting. Costs are tied directly to your voucher data, giving your production team a clear, accurate picture of background talent spend. No surprises at wrap. No reconciliation headaches.
- 48-hour edit turnaround. Payroll edits are processed within 48 hours, with built-in reviews from the industry’s most trusted paymasters.
Payroll with SmartVoucher is available in: All 50 states.
Give your production the advantage of Central Casting’s background casting and payroll services
No matter where you film, Central Casting's background casting and payroll services can benefit your production. With over 100 years of expertise and one integrated platform for casting, vouchers and payroll, Central Casting is the partner the industry's top productions trust to get it right — every time, everywhere.
Whether you’re a UPM mapping out a complex production schedule, an AD managing daily background calls across multiple locations or a Line Producer keeping a close eye on compliance and costs, Central Casting has a solution built for how you work.