Central Casting's Premium Casting: End-to-End Background Casting and Payroll
Background casting is more than just placing the right talent in the right roles. From hiring to paying background actors, Central Casting’s Premium Casting services can save you significant time, reduce liability and keep your team focused on production.
With Premium Casting, Central Casting acts as a Common Law Employer in California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Louisiana to provide film, television and other productions a fully integrated casting and payroll solution.
What is Premium Casting?
Premium Casting is Central Casting's end-to-end background casting and payroll service, managing talent onboarding, selection, booking, payment and compliance. We handle every step of the casting process. You show up to set.
What you get with Premium Casting:
- The only Common Law Employer in background casting. Central Casting operates as a co-employer with your studio, taking on employer responsibilities and ensuring your production is protected.
- Dedicated casting directors with unmatched expertise. Backed by 100 years of experience, our casting directors manage hiring talent from start to finish, delivering the right background actors for your scenes.
- The largest background talent database. Whether you need a background actor with a specific look, a double with a rare skill or a stand-in available on short notice, our casting directors can find the talent you need using the largest and most diverse background database in the industry.
- 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.
- Digital vouchers and payroll on one fully integrated platform. SmartVoucher, EP’s digital voucher technology, is fully integrated with EP Payroll — covering the full workflow from tracking background throughout the workday to processing payment. With vouchers and payroll on the same platform, there is no reconciliation between vendors and no data lost in handoffs.
Premium Casting is available in: California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Louisiana.
How Your Production Benefits from Central Casting’s Common Law Employer Status
Central Casting is the only background casting company in the US operating as a Common Law Employer of background talent. With Premium Casting, Central Casting is a co-employer with your studio, taking on legal responsibility for how background actors are hired and paid — not just contractually, but legally.
As a Common Law Employer, Central Casting is fully responsible for background talent, including:
- Form I-9 and employment authorization. When signing up new background actors in Premium Casting states, Central Casting handles the Form I-9 and E-Verify responsibilities, ensuring all talent who show up to your set are authorized to work in the US.
- Start paperwork. Background actors complete a W-4, state withholding, age verification and other start paperwork when they sign up with Central Casting, not only saving your team time at check-in, but eliminating exposure of Social Security numbers and personally identifiable information on set.
- Anti-harassment training. In California and New York, Central Casting provides state-mandated anti-harassment training and tracks renewal deadlines — keeping the talent on your sets compliant with local labor laws.
- Sick leave management in California and New York. Premium Casting relieves your production of the responsibility of tracking sick leave accrual, reporting, and distributing payment.
One Fully Integrated Platform with Premium Casting
With Central Casting, your production benefits from casting and payroll managed on one secure platform. Using the EP Casting Portal, the industry’s most advanced background casting technology, our casting directors search, book and manage background actors for your production.
Once background actors are booked, they automatically populate in SmartVoucher, creating a seamless transition from booking to tracking background actors on set.
Then with one-click submit from production accounting to EP Payroll, there's no reconciliation between systems, no data lost in translation, and only one accountable partner responsible for the whole process. With Central Casting and Entertainment Partners, what gets cast is what gets paid.
Nationwide Background Casting and Payroll Services
Central Casting provides background casting and background payroll in all 50 states, delivering the trusted service, experience and support productions have relied on for over a century.
In addition to Premium Casting, Central Casting provides:
- Production Driven Casting. With Production Driven Casting, your production maintains creative control. Your team selects and books background actors directly using the EP Casting Portal with support from our expert casting directors. Available in all states outside of California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Louisiana.
- Payroll with SmartVoucher. If your production only needs background payroll services, Payroll with SmartVoucher is available in all 50 states to pay your background talent accurately, compliantly and on time.
Hire and Pay Background Actors with Central Casting’s Premium Casting
If you’re filming in California, New York, New Jersey, Georgia or Louisiana, Central Casting has your background casting and background payroll covered with Premium Casting services.