![]() “I was completely hooked, so when I went for my meeting, I had a real understanding of what was required,” he says. After reading the comics for the first time, he went in for a meeting with Oseman and executive producer Patrick Walters. When Heartstopper was first greenlit by the streamer, Edwards – a former child actor himself – was recommended to cast the show thanks to his reputation for discovering young actors. Heartstopper centres on teenagers Nick (Kit Connor, left) and Charlie (Joe Locke) Notably, Locke is now joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a role in upcoming series Agatha: Coven of Chaos, while Finney, a transgender actress who plays trans character Elle, is set to join the cast of Doctor Who next year. Since its launch on Netflix in April, the show has become a smash hit around the world, particularly among the LGTBQ+ community, who have resonated with storylines relating to a group of teenagers discovering and coming to terms with their sexuality.Īs for the cast, many of the show’s actors have become global stars. The pair and their circle of friends – Tao (William Gao), Elle (Yasmin Finney), Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) – then embark on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance as they find their true selves. We get emails every single day from around the world, from teenagers and young people and older people – and huge celebrities wanting to have cameos.”Ĭreated by showrunner Alice Oseman and based on her own webcomics of the same name, Heartstopper is the story of teenagers Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor), who meet at secondary school and discover their unlikely friendship is blossoming into an unexpected romance. The pressure is off and you’re able to just be a little bit more creative and bring in new, exciting people. Returning for S2, “you still have to deliver but it’s more exciting. When it came to Heartstopper, “that was an insane – and then exhilarating – first season and it’s paying off enormously,” Edwards continues. “In future seasons, some would say it’s easier because the pressure is off to find that core and you are creating a world around those people, around the tone and the energy those actors have bought to those characters.” “It’s always great when you start a show because that’s the hardest part, locking these characters in with the hope that will run,” he says. He enjoys taking on a mix of projects that range from new and returning series to those such as Grace that add guest stars to a core group of recurring actors. ![]() Daniel Edwards shows off his RTS Craft & Design Award for casting Heartstopper We haven’t stopped.”Įdwards recently completed casting on season two of Heartstopper and S3 of ITV detective drama Grace and is now working on BBC supernatural drama Domino Day, The Killing Kind for Paramount+ and the BBC’s ska music series This Town (previously Two Tone), from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. We’ve been really busy since the early summer of 2020. Then the government insurance funding came into play, so everything started again. “Like everybody else, the pandemic came, everybody stopped, I stopped. “But I’m privileged to have been really busy,” he continues. Last summer, the pandemic-induced backlog in production meant Edwards and his team were “absolutely on our knees” across nine different projects. “I take projects that excite me, that I know I can be good for and also that I can handle, because I don’t want to be a casting director who’s spreading themselves so thin that they’re not engaged with each project,” Edwards tells DQ. In the past year alone, Edwards has worked on titles including Then Barbara met Alan, DI Ray and Grace, while his work on Netflix hit Heartstopper earned him the casting prizes this month at both the RTS Craft & Design Awards in the UK and at the Children’s and Family Emmys in LA. ![]() Having originally broken into television as an actor, Daniel Edwards is now best known for his work behind the camera on assembling the casts of shows such as Born to Kill, The Innocents, Responsible Child and Showtrial. Award-winning casting director Daniel Edwards breaks down his work on Netflix phenomenon Heartstopper and talks about authentic representation and the ‘forgotten’ art of on-screen chemistry. ![]()
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