TRIBUTE WITH ROBI REED
The ACTRA Toronto Diversity Committee partners with the TBFF for a special casting director talk with Robi Reed, geared toward performers of colour. Preceding the talk, TBFF will present Robi Reed with the 2018 TBFF Career Achievement Award.
Join us as we sit with Robi Reed, (Vice President of Talent and Casting for Original Programming for Black Entertainment Television and casting director/producer for over 50 projects), and delve deep into the casting process. How can performers set themselves up for success? What are recent trends in casting? Performers, this is for you. Bring your questions and get ready to take notes. Hosted by performer and producer, Diane Johnstone.
ROBI REED is the first African-American to be nominated and win an Emmy for casting. Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Rosie Perez and Queen Latifah all have something in common with Emmy Award-winning Casting Director Robi Reed. Her magic touch landed them major roles in their careers.
Robi Reed is currently the Vice President of Talent and Casting for Original Programming at Black Entertainment Television (BET), where she oversees talent and casting for scripted and non-scripted shows. She has over 70 films and television shows to her credit, including The Best Man, Oprah Winfrey’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Soul Food, For Colored Girls, Showtime’s series Barbershop, Love Jones, Set It Off, In Living Color and Girlfriends. She also cast Beyoncé Knowles in her first acting role in MTV’s CARMEN: A Hip Hopera and later in her first lead with Cuba Gooding Jr. in the feature film, The Fighting Temptations. Reed got her start working with writer-director Spike Lee.
His 1988 release School Daze was her very first film as a casting director. She later went on to cast Lee's Malcolm X, Do The Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Crooklyn, Clockers and Jungle Fever.
