Casting Directors are hired by the Producers & Directors to audition talent for roles. Then their job is to show the best of the best to the producer and director for the final decision making. They also know how to negotiate and finalize the talent's contracts. The agent's job is to get the actor's photo and resume in front of the casting director while they are actively casting projects.

Casting is one of the most important but least understood jobs in the entertainment industry. Typically, casting directors offer a range of services, from drawing up lists of prospects to screening candidates on videotape to conducting nationwide searches and overseeing auditions. Demands vary from negotiating a bit player's fee to populating a director's vision with the right faces and voices. Casting is the only trade not recognized with an Academy Award; the Casting Society of America honors outstanding achievement with its annual Artios awards, the profession's equivalent of the Oscars.

Casting was born in the early 60's when the studio system collapsed and power shifted to the stars and their agents. Previous to that actors were under contract with the studios and negotiation was nonexistent, since the studio owned the talent.