Gillian Hawser

GILLIAN HAWSER is an internationally renowned casting director who has worked for over thirty years across film, television and theatre in the UK, Europe and the US. From Bill Kenwright to Warner Bros, Sony, HBO and Universal, she has developed close working relationships with leading producers on both sides of the Atlantic to deliver casts of exceptional talent, imagination and diversity. Gillian has a wealth of experience, having cast over 150 titles on IMDB alone. Her range is notable, from Hollywood star vehicles to independent projects and groundbreaking shorts. She mentors a number of emerging directors, producers and casting directors and works on pro bono projects each year to support the next generation of British filmmaking talent. For more than the past decade Gillian has been a prominent presence at the heart of the British Academy. Following eight years as an elected member of BAFTA Council, for the past four years she has been successively elected by her peers onto BAFTA Film Committee. During this time, she has been particularly effective in advocating for both more diversity across the industry and in fighting for recognition of the vital role of the casting director when it comes to positively transforming its image. She is proud to have been instrumental in the process that led to the new Casting awards for film and television that was launched in 2020. Gillian has been strongly connected to BIFA for many years. This year, she had the privilege of chairing all the performance juries for the BIFA Awards. She is a member of the Casting Directors Guild and serves on the European Board of the Casting Society of America.