Kharmel Cochrane, Rory Aitken among backers of UK startup casting platform Performeo

UK casting director Kharmel Cochrane, producer Rory Aitken and former Sony Pictures Entertainment CFO Philip Rowley are among the backers of Perfomeo, a new casting platform for UK actors and casting directors launching in January 2026.

The directory will be free for actors and individual casting directors to use, while organisations will be offered an “enterprise licence” at a cost.

Performeo said over 3,000 actors have already signed up to the platform. Cochrane, whose credits include Edgar Wright’s The Running Man and Alex Garland’s Warfare, said she will be using the directory exclusively for future castings.

Performeo has been created by investor Alex Breeden and business owner Thomas Howe, who raised funding from investors, including Indeed co-founder Paul Forster, who invests in early-stage technology companies. 

Legal wrangle

The startup is launching against the backdrop of a high-profile legal wrangle between Spotlight, the UK’s leading casting directory, which currently charges £205.80 for an annual subscription and UK actors’ union Equity.

The latter recently won permission to appeal a judgment made by the High Court last month, which rejected its call for Spotlight to be regulated.

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