Melissa Smith is living the dream — or at least, her dream.

The 20-year-old grew up in Lively, and graduated high school in the city before moving south. She is now a casting associate at Lisa Parasyn Casting in Toronto, where she helps select on-screen talent for film, TV, mini-series and pilots.

“We bring in actors from all over the world and find the best-suited people for roles in our projects,” she said. “Right now, we are currently casting Lost Girl and XIII - The Series for the Showcase Network, as well as The Firm for NBC and Call Me Fitz for HBO. I am also in the midst of casting two pilots for NBC Universal — Rewind and Defiance.

The former Sudburian said casting is her “dream job.”

“Although it has been difficult and I've had to make some sacrifices, it is where I've always hope to be,” she said. She took time from her schedule to answer a few questions with Northern Life.

Q. How did you get to where you are?
A. I originally began as an actor. I started out performing in Sudbury at the Sudbury Theatre Centre, Theatre Cambrian and in school plays. In 2008, I decided that I wanted to take acting further, so I gained representation with a film and television agent at ETM Talent Managment in Toronto. My agent, who also represents Rachelle Lefevre from Twilight, would call bi-weekly with auditions and one of my parents would drive me down to Toronto.
In general, auditions only take about five minutes, but ... it was worth it. In 2009, I booked a small role in the film Kick-Ass for Marvel Films. I met Nicholas Cage and was in a scene with Christopher Mintz-Plasse, also known as McLovin from Superbad.
However, I realized after a couple of years that working as an actor has a shelf-life and is not a realistically dependable career for me. I decided that I would try my hand at casting and see where it would take me.

Q. What were some of your experiences here that helped you land your current role?
A. The experiences I had in Sudbury provided me with the fundamentals and a start in the business. My first experience with professional theatre was at the age of nine in Sudbury. My parents had heard of an open casting call for the STC's production of Pinnochio.
I had never performed before, but I met the physical criteria of what they were looking for — a little blue fairy. My mother encouraged me to give it a try and I went in to audition for Judi Straughan and George Pothitos. I found out the next day that they had loved my performance and wanted me to be in the cast.
Being on stage was exhilarating and really brought me out of my shell. The crew and director at STC were so wonderful. When Pinnochio came to an end, I realized I had been bitten by the acting bug. I went on to perform with Theatre Cambrian in Sudbury and in many school productions.

Q. You’ve worked on some pretty big projects – what’s it like? Did you ever think you’d be doing the “Hollywood North” thing to this extreme?
A. Being from Sudbury, it definitely seemed like a long shot to move to a large city like Toronto and jump into casting television shows and feature films, especially at my age. However, I was always pretty confident and determined to make my dream happen.

Q. What are your future plans?
A. In the future, I plan to continue casting larger-scale projects. I've had the amazing opportunity to work with Hollywood directors, and I want to continue making more industry connections. I want to work on as many projects as I can and gain as much experience as possible. I currently work with talent in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. One day, I hope to open my own offices here in Canada and in the States.

Q. What has been your best professional experience up to this point?
A. My best profession experience up to this point would be working with Lisa Parasyn and Jon Comerford on their many series and films. Right now, we are working on an amazing pilot for Universal/SyFy called Rewind with director Jack Bender.
Jack came into our offices while we held auditions and he is such a creative, driven individual. It was amazing to work with the director of Lost and Alcatraz.
After completing casting, the show went to camera this month. I was able to go on set and see everyone at work. It's amazing to go from reading a script in its early stages, to seeing an actor you've helped cast bring it to life.
From what I could see, the pilot is heading in a great direction.
Another memorable experience I've had would be meeting with David Cronenberg at our offices.

Q. What made you decide to move to TO to pursue your career?
A. Making the move from Sudbury to Toronto was essentially taking the next step in my career. Although Sudbury is growing rapidly in terms of the film industry, there was a limited amount of opportunities for me to pursue casting. I contacted a few casting directors in Toronto and was offered a position with two-time Gemini-winning casting director Marsha Chesley. I moved to Toronto to be her assistant and we spent six months casting the television series King for the Showcase Network. It was definitely an amazing learning experience and enabled me to move forward in my career.

Q. How often do you get to come home?
A. I am lucky enough to be able to come home every few weeks to visit my friends and family. I expect to be making the trip almost every weekend in the summer to be able to enjoy my cottage on Penage Lake. I am really interested in the growing entertainment industry in Sudbury. It is really exciting to see full-scale projects moving up north. Who knows — I may find myself moving back home if the right project calls.

Q. What does it take to do your job?
A. To do my job, it takes persistence and a real passion for the craft. It is very demanding and requires long hours, but in the long run it is very rewarding. To be a casting associate, you need to be very flexible and open to anything.
What drew me to the business was that I love talented people, but in reality it hooked me. This is a business unlike any other business. It is extremely intriguing to read a script and six months later watch it come to life on the screen.

Posted by Arron Pickard