Before the world knew that two of the biggest movie stars in the world would be toplining Netflix’s Don’t Look Up, one less-well-known actor had already gone through the script and was preparing to bring his character to life˳ “I saw with everybody else that Jennifer Lawrence came on board,” recalls Rob Morgan, who plays Dr˳ Teddy Oglethorpe in Adam McKay’s polemical tragi-satire˳ “Next thing you know, Leo comes on board˳ And when Leo comes on board, the domino chips start falling down˳ Everybody came on˳”
“Everybody” isn’t much of an exaggeration˳ Don’t Look Up features one of the starriest casts ever assembled for the big screen—a SAG Award-nominated ensemble that has, in total, won eight Oscars out of 43 nominations˳ Icons ranging from Meryl Streep to Cate Blanchett to Mark Rylance reveal bitingly funny new shades in supporting turns, alongside comic heavyweights like Tyler Perry and Jonah Hill˳ But for the three lead characters—scientists who band together to convince the White House, then the U˳S˳ as a whole, to stop a comet from ending life on Earth as we know it—the vision was always clear: “It was Leo, Jen, and Rob,” says casting director Francine Maisler˳
There’s an alchemy to the cast of Don’t Look Up that feels fresher and stranger than it might have been in less-skilled hands˳ “It brought together such a unique group of people that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” star Leonardo DiCaprio tells me˳
Maisler, who also cast this season’s Dune and Being the Ricardos, has worked with McKay since The Big Short and was Emmy-nominated for Succession˳ They’ve developed “an ease with each other” while collaborating on projects of increasingly large scale—and possibility˳ They banter; they might disagree˳ But in it, they find a balance˳ “He makes me better at what I do,” Maisler says˳ “And I think I put some ideas in his head to let him go and really explore˳”
Thanks to The Big Short and Vice, McKay had developed a reputation for directing awards-contending, actor-friendly, widely popular projects of a political bent˳ Don’t Look Up has not only been the biggest example yet, but one with a real, clear warning about climate change that folks with platforms wanted to help spread˳ Lawrence signed on first˳ DiCaprio, a longtime climate-change policy activist, followed˳ “It took time for Leo to say yes to the movie,” Maisler says˳ “It was over months and months that he and Adam sat down and talked about the character˳”
“I really wanted to emulate the frustrations of the scientific community, especially scientists that have felt pushed aside and marginalized and have tried to convey the science and the truth about the time frame that we have to solve this crisis,” DiCaprio says of how he shaped the role of schlubby Dr˳ Mindy˳ “[Adam] was incredibly open to all kinds of ideas, which is an amazing way to enter a project˳”
Maisler and McKay continued the casting process before DiCaprio was locked, fielding interest from a variety of A-listers˳ “All of these actors, once they read the script, were just like, ‘I want to do the role,’” Maisler says˳ “I like to kid that Meryl auditioned, but I’m not finding a way in for that joke˳”
Ultimately, per Maisler, she and McKay embraced the flood for two reasons: “These people wanted to be part of it and have their voices heard for this important topic˳ And we really wanted to get the biggest audience we possibly could˳” (It didn’t hurt that some of the best actors in the world were asking to play a few scenes, either˳) But there were discussions about whether the cast might have ballooned to too many people˳ “It just kept getting bigger and bigger,” Maisler admits˳
Great stuff came of that trend, certainly˳ Timothée Chalamet proved hilarious as a burnout love interest to Lawrence, then touching as his character revealed a surprising spiritual depth˳ Mark Rylance was unrecognizable (and terrifying) as an Elon Musk-esque tech billionaire˳ (“We wanted somebody who was going to create a character, and he can do anything,” Maisler says˳)
But yeah, it’s a lot˳ The sheer volume led to a focus on pivotal roles that could be occupied by a different class of great actors—those able to walk into a coffee shop with a little less fuss˳ Maisler points, first and foremost, to the casting of Melanie Lynskey as June, Dr˳ Mindy’s wife˳ “For me, it was so important that the actress be around Leo’s age, and that you first think she’s a bit submissive and just the wife, but then she is the one to put Leo’s character in his place,” she says˳ “Melanie’s one of our best˳ I know that there are so many stars in this, but Melanie’s a star to me because of how her talent is equal to anyone in this˳ She’s as good as them˳”
Lynskey, who also drew acclaim recently for her lead role in Yellowjackets, was offered the role and quickly accepted˳ She has as much screen time as some of her more famous costars, and plays a clear arc as Mindy leaves her behind while pursuing improbable fame, only to return home and face her as the world truly gears up for its ending˳ “After I said yes, I had a phone call with Adam and it was really lovely—he took 35 minutes to talk to me and give me my character’s whole backstory,” she tells me˳ “There were certainly bigger parts being played by fancier people˳ And it just really moved me and made me feel really nice that he took that time with me˳”
