Tiffany Little Canfield (Full Interview): Casting Wicked, Ariana Grande, Snow White & Oscar Recognition for Casting Directors

Welcome to The DMF — Discovering Meaning in Film and Acting. I'm Justin Younts, and this is the complete interview with casting director Tiffany Little Canfield of Telsey Company — known for her work on Wicked, Mean Girls, and more. All three parts together.Tiffany grew up in Sacramento, got serious about acting early, moved into directing, and eventually found her way to casting — where her background on both sides of the table changed how she reads actors and approaches every project. This conversation covers all of it.We start with her path into the industry, the casting process, what actors consistently misunderstand about auditions, the impact of self-tapes, and why training never stops mattering. From there we get into the specific casting stories — A Most Violent Year, Miss Sloane, Margin Call, and Wicked. Tiffany gets into how Ariana Grande was cast as Glinda, the casting of The Wizard, Madame Morrible, and Boq, and what the process looked like on a production of that scale.We also get into Snow White and The Little Mermaid — the casting challenges, audience reception, and the conversation around diversity in casting. Tiffany talks about the Academy finally establishing a casting branch and what that recognition means for the profession. We close with upcoming projects, personal habits, what she's watching, and thoughts on Maggie Gyllenhaal's directing work.In this episode we discuss:Tiffany's path from acting to directing to castingThe casting process and what actors get wrongSelf-tapes and the reality of modern auditionsCasting Wicked — Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff GoldblumCasting Snow White and The Little MermaidDiversity in casting and audience receptionThe Academy finally recognizing casting directorsUpcoming projects including Only Murders in the Building and Paradise00:00:00 - Introduction 00:00:14 - Guest Introduction and Early Life 00:00:34 - Early Acting Experience and Education 00:02:23 - Transition from Acting to Directing 00:06:21 - Transition from Directing to Casting 00:09:50 - The Casting Process and Similarities to Acting 00:10:03 - The Role of a Casting Director 00:13:45 - The Importance of Scene Work in Casting 00:15:13 - The Misconceptions of Acting 00:15:40 - The Importance of Training in Acting 00:20:32 - The Reality of Auditions 00:22:07 - The Impact of Self-Tapes 00:24:43 - The Future of Storytelling 00:27:00 - The Power of Subtlety in Acting 00:28:45 - Working with the Telsey Office 00:30:00 - Casting 'A Most Violent Year' 00:30:46 - Casting 'A Most Violent Year' Continued 00:36:34 - Casting 'Miss Sloane' 00:39:19 - Casting 'Margin Call' 00:41:37 - Casting 'Wicked' 00:46:15 - Casting Ariana Grande in 'Wicked' 00:50:03 - Casting 'Wicked': The Wizard and Madame Morrible 00:55:35 - Casting 'Wicked': Boq 00:57:12 - Reflections on 'Snow White' and 'The Little Mermaid' 00:59:25 - Casting Challenges in 'Snow White' 01:01:37 - Casting 'Snow White' and 'The Little Mermaid': Audience Reception 01:03:43 - Addressing Diversity in Casting 01:05:59 - The Role of Casting Directors in Film Production 01:07:40 - Recognition of Casting Directors at the Academy Awards 01:12:08 - Upcoming Projects and Future Plans 01:12:47 - Personal Life and Habits 01:16:47 - Discussing Current TV Shows and Movies 01:17:18 - Thoughts on 'Wuthering Heights' 01:18:15 - Maggie Gyllenhaal's Directing Work 01:19:10 - How to Reach the Guest 01:19:30 - Closing Remarks#DMF #TiffanyLittleCanfield #CastingDirector #Wicked #ArianaGrande #SnowWhite #TheLittleMermaid #TelseyCompany #Oscars #Academy #Acting #Casting #Filmmaking #Podcast