2016 (Production)

2016-01-13 (Production)

English (Original)

Interviewee: David Rubin
Interviewer: Sienna McLean LoGreco

Professional production

United States

David Rubin is interviewed by Sienna McLean-LoGreco at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood, 2016. He recalls his upbringing in Great Neck, NY and reflects on his career as a casting director. He discusses films from RAGTIME (1981) to THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999) to GRAVITY (2013).

David Rubin is interviewed by Sienna McLean-LoGreco at the Linwood Dunn Theater on January 13, 2016. He describes his upbringing in the suburban town of Great Neck, twenty miles outside of New York. He talks about being a first-generation American, his German parents’ arduous journey to the states, and the early death of his father. He pays credit to his mother for nurturing his interest in arts and culture and he recalls his first experiences of show business; attending Broadway shows as a teenager and meeting the stars of the time – Angela Lansbury, Ruth Gordon and Elizabeth Ashley, dining with Gregory Peck during his student years at Amherst Liberal Arts College, and his first internship at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. He looks back on his position as a production assistant on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and meeting Mary Goldberg, whom he speaks of with great admiration. He owes his success in the business to the opportunities Goldberg presented to him in the early stages of his career and he remembers fondly the three years he spent working as her assistant on such films as Milos Forman’s RAGTIME (1981) and Mike Nichols’ SILKWOOD (1983).

Rubin chronicles his move to Los Angeles from New York in the early 1980s following a job offer from the legendary Hollywood casting director Lynn Stalmaster, with whom he developed a lifelong friendship. He goes on to describe how his career has unfolded and he offers insight into the trials and tribulations casting directors face in the early stages of a film’s production. Rubin presents a rich tapestry of personal anecdotes from his life as a casting director, citing a number of films including ROMEO AND JULIET (1996), MEN IN BLACK (1997), THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999) and GRAVITY (2013). He speaks fondly of his collaborations with a number of remarkable directors and actors, including Anthony Minghella, Baz Luhrmann, Danny DeVito, Cate Blanchett, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Rubin states that openness, knowledge of the craft of acting, and an acute understanding of the actor’s artistic temperament, are the necessary traits of a successful casting director.

David Rubin (born 1956) is an American casting director. After graduating from Amherst Liberal Arts College, Rubin began his career in the entertainment industry as a production assistant on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. He then became an assistant and later an associate to Mary Goldberg, the head of casting at NBC. In 1984 David moved to Los Angeles to work for casting director Lynn Stalmaster on such films as THE NAME OF THE ROSE (1986), THE BIG EASY (1986), and many others. In 1986 Rubin opened his own casting company, Firefly Casting. Throughout his career he has been responsible for assembling the casts of such films as: FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL (1994), THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996), GRAVITY (2013) and WILD (2014). In partnership with Richard Hicks, David cast the films HAIRSPRAY (2007), LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (2007), RECOUNT (HBO) (2008), THE SMURFS (2011) and GAME CHANGE (HBO) (2012), for which they received the 2012 Emmy Award. In 2001, David was the recipient of the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Outstanding Career Achievement in the Field of Casting, presented by Sydney Pollack. In October 2002, Baz Luhrmann presented him with an honorary Career Achievement Award from the Casting Society of America.

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