'Adult Life Skills' casting exec launches UK company with Nicolas Cage thriller

UK casting director Lara Manwaring, who has worked on projects including Nymphomaniac, Adult Life Skills and War Machine, has launched new film and TV casting outfit Lara Manwaring Casting.

The first film of the gate for the company will be Nicolas Cage action-thriller Mandy, currently in pre-production and set to shoot this summer in Belgium.

The film is produced by Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision, XYZ Films’ Nate Bolotin and Umedia’s Adrian Politowski with finance from Umedia and Piccadilly Pictures.

Manwaring has been at Des Hamilton Casting since 2009, working on projects including Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, Paddy Considine’s Tyrannosaur, Channel 4’s Top Boy and Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights.

She served as casting associate on Netflix’s upcoming Brad Pitt satire War Machine and the recent BBC 1 three-part drama Gunpowder. 

As casting director she has jointly cast projects with Hamilton including Brimstone, starring Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce, Lars Von Trier’s upcoming project The House That Jack Built, and Rachel Tunnard’s Adult Life Skills, starring Jodie Whittaker.

Sole casting director credits include the Channel4 Coming up feature Ellen, directed by Mahalia Belo, and shorts including Aneil Karia’s Work and Billy Lumby’s King Lear. 

She is currently working on two projects with The Witch producer Rooks Nest: Brit List-topping script Matinee Idol, set to be directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa, and Aneil Karia’s Surge. She has also recently come on board The Lemon Grove, set to be directed by Helen Walsh.

London-based Manwaring told Screen: “What I love about casting is that there are no rules. I learnt from Des to always take risks, and that it’s often the more unexpected choices that bring the most interesting and authentic results. I’ve got a strong background in unearthing new talent through street-casting and more unorthodox methods, which I enjoy combining with the traditional casting route.

“I’m relishing the chance to forge new – hopefully long-lasting – relationships with exciting, emerging talent and bringing my experience to the boldest new projects in film and TV.”