central casting

Meanings

1. 1noununcountableinformalfigurative

   An imaginary place that supplies people who look exactly like the standard picture of a type, such as a typical sheriff, villain or grandmother.

   Grammar: Used without an or the in set phrases: he looks like central casting.

   Patterns

   • straight out of central casting
   • something from central casting
   • send someone from central casting

   The new sheriff was tall, weathered and slow-talking, straight out of central casting.

   Her three aunts looked like they had been sent over from central casting for a family comedy.

   The villain in the film was so obvious that he seemed to come from central casting.

2. 2noununcountablespecialist

   In the film industry, a department or agency that finds and books extras and background actors for productions.

   Grammar: Often treated as a name for an organization: central casting called her again.

   Patterns

   • register with central casting
   • work through central casting

   He registered with central casting hoping to appear as an extra in a crowd scene.

   Central casting sent twenty background actors to the set before dawn.

   Many early film extras were booked through central casting offices in Hollywood.

Common combinations

straight out of central casting

The butler was straight out of central casting, right down to the raised eyebrow.

look like central casting

The whole team looked like central casting for a sports movie.

send over from central casting

The judge seemed to have been sent over from central casting.

a central casting villain

He played a central casting villain with a thin moustache and a smirk.

call central casting

The producer said she would call central casting for fifty extras.

Synonyms and how they differ

stereotypical

Stereotypical is a plain adjective that often sounds critical, while central casting is a lively image that can also be admiring.

typecast

Typecast describes an actor stuck in one kind of role, whereas central casting describes how someone simply looks the part.

textbook

Textbook says something is a perfect example of a thing, but it does not bring the picture of a film set that central casting does.

Opposites

Word family

casting noun

the choosing of actors for roles

cast verb

to choose an actor for a part

typecast verb

to give an actor the same type of role repeatedly

extra noun

a background performer with no speaking part

Commonly confused: central casting or casting call?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “central casting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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