Dan Hubbard Discusses What it’s Like to Work With Guy Ritchie, Growing Up in Casting

The word that comes to mind when you’re talking to Dan Hubbard is “refreshing.” How else to describe someone who grew up in the casting business, but instead of being jaded, still geeks out about movies and TV shows he loves, and is as much a fanboy as the rest of us?

The son of casting directors Ros and John Hubbard, and younger brother of casting director Amy Hubbard, Dan Hubbard has built himself a thriving career on his terms, working repeatedly with directors like Paul Greengrass, Simon West, Neil Jordan and Guy Ritchie, for whom Hubbard has cast the director’s last several projects.

Hubbard cast Ritchie’s movie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, as well as his hit Netflix show The Gentlemen. Hes also cast Magpie, starring Daisy Ridley, and A Mistake, starring Elizabeth Banks. He took some time out to talk to us from his home in London.

Insights From Dan Hubbard

Prepare thoroughly but stay calm and confident, knowing you were chosen because of your talent.

Bring a sense of purpose and belonging into the audition to create a natural and flowing performance.

Take smart risks with your choices to surprise and engage the casting director, adding fresh life to the role.

How did you get into casting? It seems like maybe this is a family business for you.

Well, yeah, it is. I always feel a little bit self-conscious when I answer this because, in this world of nepotism, it always makes me feel a little bit guilty; but yeah, I grew up around it.

My mother started the original Hubbard Casting, in the early 80s. I was born in 1975, and my sister was born in 1972. Amy Hubbard. She’s a casting director as well. She did Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

We grew up around it. My mother was a hardcore, very ambitious Irish woman from Dublin who would ring production companies who had people like Alan Parker, Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, all cutting their teeth, learning how to shoot, but with vast budgets in advertising. That’s how she learned to cast, working with these guys.

And then she taught you?

My dad left advertising and joined her, around 1984 or ’85, and the office was in our house. I’d come home from school and there’d be actors waiting on the couch. We moved to Dublin when I was 16 when they did a movie called The Commitments, and that production office was in my house. I would come down from my bedroom and there would be actors tuning up their instruments and Alan Parker was in my sitting room, and I was just like, “Okay, this is not normal.”

I think it’s interesting you followed your parents because so many kids of people in the entertainment business go out of their way to do anything else.

I didn’t want to do it, man. I wanted to do something else in the film business, so I applied to film school but didn’t get in. I came back to Hubbard Casting in London when I was about 19, just for money.

I didn’t want to do what my parents did, but then I kind of got to love it. They were doing Evita for Alan. All these actors were sending in their song tapes on cassettes, so I would go through and listen to all of the songs. Very time-consuming.

Back then, it was a total honor to be asked to do something like that. I couldn’t believe that I had that responsibility, but all I had to do was work out whether they sang well or not. (Laughs) That’s kind of where it began. That’s where I learned how to negotiate and do contracts and deal memos and learned about the art and craft and, well, the psychology of how you should be with actors.

How would you describe that?

My mother always instilled our ethos of the company as always being human. Be kind, warm, and welcoming, but also make sure that the actor has the information they require before going into the room. What are they looking for today? What’s the director like? Which scenes are we reading?

I watched my mother do that for years, and a lot of actors have come up to me to say, “I love your mom.” She’s so funny, so warm, she was a mother figure to them, while my dad was more of the quiet, reserved Englishman who had that gentle wisdom and a deft hand with his compliments in the room. I tried taking the best of what they did, and maybe learning from their mistakes as well. I was very, very lucky.

How long did you work for your folks, and at what point did you decide to break off on your own?

I started Dan Hubbard Casting 10 years ago. After living in their shadow, I felt like, actually, I’m good at this.

I already had a really good relationship with Paul Greengrass. I started with Captain Phillips. Going into Jason Bourne, I’d done United 93 while I was at Hubbard Casting, but that was pretty much me one-on-one with Paul, so Jason Bourne was the first movie that I was doing when I set off on my own.

That was a great thing for my company. Back then, I was still doing a lot of script-to-screen packaging, which is quite a frustrating way of casting, because it’s always a chicken or the egg kind of thing. I have to go to these talent agents and push them to read it, even though it’s not financed. Then in 2018, I started working with Guy Ritchie, and it’s gone off in a whole other direction.

I was going to ask about that. I’m curious about how you established that relationship with Guy, and the comfort of being able to have that shorthand with a director where you know you work well together, and they know you bring something to the table that they respect and don’t question because of the experience you have with each other.

That’s a really good question, and it’s a really interesting subject because I do have other directors that I’ve got relationships with who come back to me, but with Guy, it’s a very professional world, and it’s a very professional setup, and it’s a very private setup.

My first film with Guy, Wrath of Man, was a terrifying experience for me because I just wanted to do well and get it right. For years I fanboyed him, and in my head, I was slightly bitter that I never got seen for any of his movies as a casting director, because I knew that world. Then out of the blue, I knew that he’d offered it to someone else, it might have been my sister, (laughs) but she felt that she wasn’t quite right, and I got the call the next day.

That must have been pretty fantastic.

I was like, “Fuck yes! Finally! Oh my God.”

I suppose it’s only really about a year or two ago that I’ve begun to find my feet in terms of not being terrified before each meeting or presentation I have with Guy, and not working through fear, but rather through love and fun and believing my abilities because he likes my taste and my professional vibe in the room. I found it very hard because I just couldn’t believe I was working with Guy Ritchie for the first three or four years.

I have to say, it’s pretty amazing to me how jazzed you continue to be about the business, after spending your whole life in it. I would think it’d be awfully easy to be jaded about it.

At certain points, I have been jaded, being overwhelmed by the industry, the politics and the workload, but I love film. I love film. That’s my number one escape, and a good day for me would be sitting in a movie theater, either on my own or with people, watching a really good movie. It’s just a great honor to be doing these spectacular movies with people like Guy.

After working for literally your whole life in casting, what piece of advice or wisdom would you give to an actor coming in to audition for you?

I like people to be calm, with a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose, because I have called you in, and I’ve deemed you talented and up to the job.

What I’m interested in is the flow of the performance once the camera turns. I have faith in you because you’re here, so do me proud, but also, sometimes it’s knowing when to take that risk and make us all sit back and say, “Oh my God, I didn’t see it like that.”

That breathes life into the piece because the actor has the power to shock us with their intelligent choices. That’s the joy of my job, the choices the actor makes to fit the puzzle.

Final Takeaways

Dan Hubbard’s journey through casting is anything but typical—rooted in family legacy yet defined by his own passion and persistence. From growing up surrounded by actors in his childhood home to carving out his own space with top directors, Hubbard remains genuinely excited about the craft. His approach blends warmth, professionalism, and a deep love for film that keeps him energized even after decades in the business. Here’s a quick recap of the conversation:

Dan Hubbard was born into a casting family but initially resisted following their path.

He learned the business hands-on, absorbing lessons in kindness, preparation, and actor psychology from his parents.

After years working with his family’s company, he launched his own casting business about 10 years ago.

Building strong relationships with directors like Paul Greengrass and Guy Ritchie has been key to his success.

Hubbard stays passionate about film and values actors who bring calm confidence and creative risk-taking to auditions.