Marielle Birks

Last Contact : Blog 4: Cast

The great thing about Last Contact was that I knew three of the main four members of cast shortly after finishing the first script. In that modest way that I possess, I decided to cast myself as Harry, (after all, who else could possibly be so naturally sarcastic?), Marielle as Laura, (who else could be so quirky?) and Griff (who else could be so John?). And with the three of us cast, it took the pressure off a bit.

Then there came the hiatus, where I looked for some crew, then sent it out via a friends agent to see if it could garner any professional interest before I had to fork out the cash to make it myself.

Well, after a year of toing and froing, where nothing very much happened in the Last Contact world, we were back where we started from, looking for cast.

I used 4 websites: CastingCallPro, ShootingPeople, Mandy and StarNow. The good thing is I had responses from all four. A couple of actors applied from multiple sites, which, knowing technology like I do, was a very sensible move. It also showed keenness, that, unlike many people, I actively look for in anyone I have to pay.

Rashmi was the main character I wanted to cast first. She was the last of the main four, as well as requiring an actor of Asian ethnicity, and the lack of responses for the role bore my initial concerns out. Thankfully, and unexpectedly, Bhasker Patel responded for the part of Bernard, and I wasn’t about to turn him down. Bhasker recommended several excellent candidates for Rashmi, and Pooja Shah was cast.

We auditioned for the role of Nina, and saw several excellent actors. Unfortunately, we had to change finally choosing Zoe Harrison who displayed just the right level of unhinged-ness we were looking for.

When we were casting for the role of Nina, we auditioned Helen Jenkinson, and whilst initially we went with another actor, both Marielle and I immediately wanted to use Helen. I thought I could write her in a part, but eventually the delivery man changed gender, and everything was okay.

Then, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we needed to find another Nina, and we immediately asked Helen. The fact that she appears as two different characters is absolutely right for Last Contact, and I think she nailed her performance as Nina.

The icing on our superb cake came in the form of Norman Lovett, Holly from the early Red Dwarf series, who signed on to play Trevor. It was an excellent and fortuitous catch, and one that lends the Last Contact cast with that sci-fi edge I wanted to give it.

Unfortunately, as the shooting dates grew nearer, Bhasker was unable to afford the time to play Bernard, and we were delighted when Norman agreed to play the part.

Oh, and they’re all very nice people, too!