Lucinda Syson Discusses the Casting Process Behind Apple TV+’s ‘Foundation’

British-based casting directors Lucinda Syson and Natasha Vincent are responsible for populating the exciting worlds of the futuristic Galactic Empire on the Apple TV+ series Foundation, loosely based on Isaac Asimov’s book series. Syson, who won an Artios Award for casting Straight Outta Compton, spoke to Casting Networks about the duo’s work on the show, which has aired two seasons so far, with a third in production but halted due to the ongoing Hollywood guild strikes.

Insights From Lucinda Syson

Actors should submit self tape auditions with clear visuals, good sound, and visible eyes to make a strong impression.

Actors need to understand the material and avoid overacting, focusing instead on being natural and authentic in their performance.

Actors should be prepared to audition as themselves initially, showing their raw potential rather than a polished character portrayal.

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When you and Natasha worked with showrunner David Goyer for season one of Foundation, offers were made to Jared Harris, then Lee Pace, to play Hari Seldon and Brother Day, respectively. How did the rest come on board?

We were creating the world from scratch and needed to have some pillars with the roles of Hari Seldon and Brother Day. Having Jared and Lee was important so we could structure the rest of the cast with a more creative preference rather than needing another name here or there. It gave us the freedom to explore and find those characters.

You cast many films set in fantastical other worlds, like the Aquaman film franchise and another David Goyer project, The Sandman series, on Netflix. Do you find you have a lot more leeway when it comes to casting worlds that don’t exist in real life?

One of my first casting jobs was for [Luc Besson’s] The Fifth Element, so I’ve had quite a bit of experience in starting from scratch to create whole worlds. I first start by creating some structure. What are the languages and the accents? Where in the future are we and what’s happened in this future? With Foundation, we let the actors lead us. We went to Europe – Sweden and Denmark – and had a little hunt around, which is what I used to do in the early days on projects like Troy.

Leah Harvey in Foundation, now streaming on Apple TV+. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.

What was the process like?

We’d do proper searches for a day or so (in each place) to tap into different countries and areas. From that, we’d discover actors by chance. We let the worlds shape themselves by following the casting. We weren’t stuck on what that would look like in the end. We were more about finding the shapes that would work within those societies. We had local castings in India. I didn’t go, but we had a fantastic casting director there who did the research and found Kubbra Sait (Phara). That’s the extent of how far the production went to do the exploration research for the roles.

Did casting get easier with each season?

I love the casting of Foundation because it’s so diverse and surprising There are so many new faces. We pride ourselves on that. We are not limited to name actors. In season two, we’ve got these new characters popping up: Isabella Laughlan (Brother Constant), Kulvinder Ghir (Poly Verisof), Ella-Rae Smith (Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion) I mean, the chemistry between Dmitri Leonidas and Isabella is wonderful.

It’s a jump for joy to watch those characters. I think it’s a shame sometimes when you have too many marquee names. For a television series like Foundation, you want to travel with those characters because they are who you know them to be, not the baggage of a hundred roles before. I love being part of creating and forming those worlds and shaping it.

How do you know there will be chemistry between two actors you’re considering for the role?

Even though it’s difficult to schedule, I believe in getting two people in the room, especially if there’s a love story. On X-Men [First Class] we had Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence come in, and you could immediately see a sizzle. Later, they became a (real-life) couple. It is absolutely vital to bring people into a room together. The more you can do that in casting, the better.

Cast of X-Men: First Class, photo courtesy of TheMovieDB.com.

Let’s talk about actors who audition for you. Do you have any basic expectations from actors when they put themselves on tape for you?

A proper backdrop, sound at a certain level and a high-quality visual image. Sometimes I get tapes where the person has a light above them and I can’t see their eyes. The eyes are the most important in some ways. And always read the material before. Sometimes, it is not the literal we’re looking for, so an actor should carefully go through the script.

What if there is no access to a script – just a paragraph of lines with little context?

If they haven’t read the script, which is common nowadays, and if they haven’t been given all the information, or met with the showrunner, then I understand they are winging it a bit. A big part of our job is to give actors the correct information. Some directors or showrunners don’t even want to see actors reading. They want to see the actors as themselves – literally as themselves – for a minute. I’ve had actors get roles on that basis because, as themselves, they’re more relaxed.

That information might alter what take an actor chooses to upload the next time they submit a self-tape audition.

Sometimes – and this is the difficulty of the self-tape process – actors choose (to submit) a scene that’s not their best take because they think they’re “acting” in it. Like, “Oh, I reacted well in that scene.” But what we’re looking for is not acting, it’s being. The actor will say, “But I did that really well” and we go, “We like the one where you don’t look as though you’re doing anything.” Less is more. That’s a big, big note. An actor wants to feel like they’ve acted well, but we want you to be as natural as possible.

Lee Pace and Laura Birn in Foundation, now streaming on Apple TV+. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+.

What’s your take on actors who like to audition entirely in character?

I have a very specific view on these early stages (of the audition process.) The initial audition is never going to be about a performance. I don’t want a performance. The initial audition is about the indication of your raw material. I want to see the aptitudes. Does that actor feel right in this role? Are the right ingredients going on? Are they going to work well with that director? Do they fit the showrunner’s view? Are they someone who’s going to give a lot or listen? There are loads of variations that we, as casting directors, are looking for in that raw material.

When does an actor get to showcase a performance during the audition process?

[After that first audition] the actor then reads the whole script or talks to the showrunner and will likely get a different perspective of the character. After that, the actor might read opposite others cast in roles, and their perspective changes again. Wearing a costume changes it yet again.

There is a difference between an actor with a gun and no gun because it changes what they do with their arm. All these details start building to your final performance. Don’t try to achieve that final performance in an audition. Costume, makeup, hair, other actors – all those elements will come in later to provide you with that path. Don’t look for that path with a video camera, a backdrop, a kitchen dresser and no costume. That’s why it’s so important to be and breathe and feel. We will pick up on that.

Sometimes being yourself goes against the very thing that being an actor is all about.

Acting is very vulnerable and hard work. There aren’t many professions where you can do your best and be faultless, but you still don’t get the part because someone else fits it better. Casting directors are very aware of how tough that can be. We see so many wonderful actors and performances that it’s such a shame to have to make a final choice. This is where casting is never linear. It is the most complex process because you can go a million ways.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz in Kick-Ass, photo courtesy of TheMovieDB.com.

Do you have any examples?

On Kick-Ass, we had someone else in mind for Chloë Grace Moretz’s role. We were in Los Angeles with (casting director) Sarah Finn and director Matthew Vaughn. We reached a point where Chloë had taken our attention but were on a different path. But she kept coming into our mind. There was an epiphany moment, and it was like, what’s Chloë doing today? Sarah’s office phoned and found out she was on the beach with her brothers and her mother. So poor Chloë got off the beach, came in and we said, “Do you mind reading?” She was so bright and on the ball. She remembered her lines from her (previous) taping. She came alive in front of us. There was no doubt she was the one.

Same with Aaron-Taylor Johnson. I had yet to start casting the film, and his agent phoned me and said, “Oh, Aaron’s back from America, and he should come in and do a general with you,” so I met with him. But for Matthew, that role needed to be American. We had pulled away from looking at British actors. However, when we were over in America, Aaron happened to be there at the same time, and I said, “Yeah, come in.” He did and boom! [I said], “That’s the guy.” That’s why I love casting so much. It’s unpredictable.

Final Takeaways

Landing a role is never just about delivering a perfect performance—it’s about showing who you are and fitting into a bigger vision. Casting directors look for authenticity, chemistry, and potential, especially early on. Here are a few practical tips to help new actors stand out in today’s competitive casting landscape:

Always film your self-tapes with good lighting, clear sound, and make sure your eyes are visible.

Read the material carefully and avoid trying to “act” too much; being natural and relaxed goes a long way.

When auditioning early on, focus on showing your true self rather than a fully polished character.

If possible, try to attend auditions or chemistry reads with other actors to showcase your interaction skills.

Remember that the final performance develops over time with costume, direction, and other actors, so don’t try to deliver the finished product in your first audition.