A casting agent who once chaperoned Geordie favourites Ant and Dec is celebrating 25 years in the TV and movie industry.
Camilla Fox Lansley runs Fox Casting from her home in Jesmond where she coordinates more than 350 professional actors; extras and support cast. Her booming business is a far cry from her humble beginnings within the film and TV industry that began when she left her native Huddersfield as a teenager.
Ms Fox Lansley originally came to the North East to study design at Newcastle University. Later, she then progressed into a course on production and editing techniques that led to her first career break as a runner on the popular BBC children’s series Byker Grove. One of her roles at the BBC was to make sure that PJ and Duncan aka Ant and Dec were in the right place at the right time for filming.
A succession of jobs followed mainly in location management across the UK which led to valuable experience on TV commercials, The Bill, Crocodile Shoes and even the BBC national news before she started her own business in 1999.
Now, Fox Casting has a wealth of TV credits notably Vera, Inspector George Gently and The Paradise where she supplied two identical baby twins for a storyline. Her movie credits include One Night in Turin a fascinating docu-drama about Sir Bobby Robson’s 1990 World Cup campaign and more recently the smash hit comedy set in the North East, A Song For Marion.
Camilla attributes her success to local knowledge, experience and attention to detail.
“I know every one of the artists on my files. I know their hair colour, level of expertise and even what time commitment they can give because of child care or other working arrangements.” she said.
“I don’t just look at photographs when I’m considering someone, I do it from knowing that person and that’s what makes Fox Casting so successful.”
One of Camilla’s seasoned actors is comedian Terry Joyce who she helped place in the role of a solicitor in the BBC hit comedy Hebburn.
“Camilla is a dream to work with. She knows the industry inside out and has the contacts and knowledge to place the right people in the right role. My time on Hebburn was a lot of fun and it’s great to have a North East based agent who knows the industry as well as Camilla does.”
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