Sarah Halley Finn is an American

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenp ...

and producer. Finn has cast over 150 feature films and is best known for casting the entire

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

, the most successful film franchise of all time. She also cast and co-produced Oscar winning Best Picture ''

Everything Everywhere All at Once ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' is a 2022 American Independent film, independent Absurdist fiction, absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniels (directors), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who produced it with Russo brot ...

'', the most awarded film in movie history. It won three out of four acting categories at the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress – a feat only achieved twice before, and not since 1976. Other works include Oscar-winning films ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

''; ''

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' is a 2017 crime drama film written, directed, and produced by Martin McDonagh. It stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a Missouri woman who rents three roadside billboards to draw attention to ...

''; and '' Crash''; all of which earned Finn the

Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as the Casting Society of America (CSA), is a professional association of about 1,200 casting directors and associate casting directors for film, television, theatre, and commercials in Canada, Europe, Austral ...

’s highest honor, the Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. Those films also won the prestigious SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2023 Finn was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Casting The BAFTA Award for Best Casting is a film award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at the annual British Academy Film Awards. It was introduced in the 73rd British Academy Film Awards in 2020. In August 2019, the Briti ...

and won the Artios Zeitgeist award for her work on ''Everything Everywhere All At Once''. In 2022, she received two

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations for her work casting ''

WandaVision ''WandaVision'' is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series i ...

'' and ''

The Mandalorian ''The Mandalorian'' is an American space Western television series created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the ''Star Wars'' franchise and begins five years after the events of the fil ...

''.

Career

Finn's collaboration with

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

includes 38 films and 17 shows to date. In 2006, she was hired to cast the first

(MCU) film, ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'', and cast

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...

in the titular role. President of

Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...

, said ''"For all of our success in all of the films, it comes down to characters... The reason you care about those characters is because of the actors who portray them, and the reason those actors portray them is because at some point, Sarah Finn brought them to our attention.”''

Jac Schaeffer Jacqueline Schaeffer (born October 26, 1978) is an American screenwriter and producer best known for her 2009 feature film debut ''TiMER'' and for her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe creating the Disney+ television miniseries ''WandaVisi ...

, who Finn collaborated with on Emmy nominated ''

'', said, ''" arahhas such incredible instincts... heis really great at internalizing the writer's intention and then finding a new flavor for that: something that's unexpected for the audience and will feel special or unique."'' Finn fought for

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...

to land the role of

Peter Quill Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976). The son of human Meredit ...

, pushed for

Chris Hemsworth Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, and Bulman, Northern Territory, he rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004� ...

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

after his initial audition was rejected by higher-ups, and, after observing his powerful and king-like presence during a prior audition for

Drax the Destroyer Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Sampson Douglas) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 1973). The character's or ...

, knew to highlight

Chadwick Boseman Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. Through his two-decade career, he appeared in a number of projects spanning both blockbuster and independent films, and received various accolades, including ...

for the role of

T'Challa Black Panther is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52, published in July 1966. On ...

in ''

''. Finn is also accustomed to finding completely unknown actors to fill roles in the MCU. After a lengthy, nationwide search and several rounds of auditions to find a Pakistani-Muslim teenager to play Ms. Marvel, then high school senior

Iman Vellani Iman Vellani (; ; born August 2002) is a Canadian actress and comic book writer. She starred as Kamala Khan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe productions '' Ms. Marvel'' (2022), ''The Marvels'' (2023), and ''Marvel Zombies'' (2025). Vellani has a ...

won the role. When asked about her experience being cast Vellani said, ''"

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

looked out for me in a way that I didn't think was normal for most casting directors... She would literally call me and run lines with me and give me notes efore auditions.. Even after I got the part, I was dealing with so much imposter syndrome, and her advice is what grounded me and allowed me to trust my instincts.”'' Similarly,

Dominique Thorne Dominique Thorne (born November 5, 1997) is an American actress. She began her career with appearances in the films '' If Beale Street Could Talk'' (2018) and '' Judas and the Black Messiah'' (2021). In 2022, she began playing Riri Williams / I ...

(MCU's Ironheart) described Finn as an ''"advocate of mine, supporting me and what I was doing."'' Beyond Marvel, Finn cast the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

Mandalorian Mandalorians are a fictional group of people associated with the planet Mandalore in the Star Wars universe and franchise created by Joe Johnston and George Lucas. Their appearance is often distinguished by gear such as battle helmets, armor ...

'' series and film, created by

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

and

Dave Filoni David Filoni (born June 7, 1974) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter currently serving as the chief creative officer of Lucasfilm. He directed multiple episodes of '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', before being hired by George Lu ...

for

LucasFilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...

. She also cast ''

The Book of Boba Fett ''The Book of Boba Fett'' is an American space Western television miniseries created by Jon Favreau for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the ''Star Wars'' franchise and a spin-off from '' The Mandalorian'', taking place in the same ...

'', ''

Skeleton Crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item. Skeleton Crew may refer to: Music *Skeleton Crew (band), an American experimental rock and jazz group *Skeleton Crew, an American record label co-founded b ...

'', and '' Ahsoka ''. She also cast all the feature films within the ''

Monsterverse The Monsterverse (also stylized as MonsterVerse) is an American multimedia franchise and shared universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other characters owned and created by Toho, Toho Co., Ltd. The franchise consists of five films and two tel ...

'', starting with ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' in 2014. Some of Finn's past credits include: Jon Favreau's comedy, ''

Chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

'';

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

's drama, '' Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'';

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...

’s ''

Seven Psychopaths ''Seven Psychopaths'' is a 2012 satirical crime comedy-drama film directed, written, and co-produced by Martin McDonagh and starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, and Christopher Walken, with Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Olga ...

'' and

Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...

’s ''

The Nice Guys ''The Nice Guys'' is a 2016 American neo-noir buddy action comedy film directed by Shane Black, who co-wrote the screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi. The film stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in the title roles, with Angourie Rice, Matt ...

''; sports films ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

'', ''

Coach Carter ''Coach Carter'' is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter, who made headlines in 1999 for s ...

'', ''

She's the Man ''She’s the Man'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy teen sports film directed by Andy Fickman and starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, and David Cross. Loosely inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Twe ...

'', and ''

Blue Crush ''Blue Crush'' is a 2002 American sports film directed by John Stockwell, written by Stockwell and Lizzy Weiss, and based on Susan Orlean's 1998 '' Outside'' magazine article "Life's Swell". It stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, San ...

''; animated films ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'', '' The Jungle Book (2016)'', and '' The Lion King (2019)''; and action films such as ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...

'' and '' Kick-Ass''. A graduate of theater and history at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and member of AMPAS (Executive Committee, Casting Branch), Sarah has served on the Executive Board of Women in Film (WIF) and is on the Board of Advisors for the

Master Class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

educational series. She is also a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Awards and nominations

In 2023, Finn garnered a BAFTA nomination for Best Casting as well as a Hollywood Critics Association Award nomination in recognition of her work on ''

''. In 2021, Finn was nominated for two

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

: Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (''

'') and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (''

''). She has also been nominated numerous times by the

, winning for ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'', '' Crash'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'', and ''

Everything Everywhere All At Once ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'' is a 2022 American Independent film, independent Absurdist fiction, absurdist comedy-drama film written and directed by Daniels (directors), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who produced it with Russo brot ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Sarah Haley American casting directors American women casting directors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people