Sophie Holland, the casting director behind some of Netflix's biggest hits like The Witcher, You, Wednesday, and more has recently revealed how she hopes to influence people and bring better representation to TV through casting.
In an interview with ActingUp that was later transcribed by Variety, Holland said: "You can affect change in whatever tiny way because you are in people's homes and they're watching this world. And that sort of solidified when I had a child, she's five now, and I thought how hard it is to be a girl."
"What I could do is change the way people see women through casting. I can make them powerful and empowering and then the floodgates will open to them...I think representation is important. Not just for women, but all minority groups. Like, people have different physical abilities and I think it's important they're seen in strong and fierce roles. Realizing this was a real moment of falling in love with my craft in a way that feels very specific to me."
Holland cited the casting of Anya Chalotra as Yennefer as a big moment of change, where she believed casting a woman of colour in the role of the beautiful sorceress would alter people's views of fantasy worlds being mostly white. The casting of The Witcher has come under a lot of fire from 'fans' who take issue with people of colour and different body types being added into the show. It seems Holland hopes that this attitude will change the more representation we see in the media we're presented.
What do you think of The Witcher's casting choices?