FEST2010

Nancy trained as an actor and director at the University of Michigan and the National Theatre Institute, earning her MA in theatre at Northwestern University.

In the early 90’s, Black Box Theater lured Nancy to Prague where she directed a number of plays. When she became Artistic Director, she professionalized the company, and rechristened it as Black Box International, at which time the theatre began touring productions through out Europe.

At this point Prague was fast becoming the Hollywood of Europe. Because of her knowledge of actors in the region, and her experience as a director, she started getting casting offers. One of her first big jobs was casting over 60 roles on Dune for the Science Fiction Channel. Since then she has cast hundreds of actors for dozens of films.

Nancy has casted for directors such as Roman Polanski (Oliver Twist), Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2) Neil Burger (The Illusionist), and many well known productions like “James Bond, Casino Royale” “The Bourne Identity”, “Hannibal Rising”, “Van Helsing” to name a few.

Here is what some people that worked with her have to say:

“As a director, casting a movie can be a terrifying process. Put the wrong actor in your project and you’re sunk.  How do you find the right person?  How do you know you’re seeing the whole picture of their character?  Luckily there are casting directors out there doing the legwork, the heavy lifting.  And if you’re working with Nancy Bishop you know you’re in good, accomplished hands, whether you’re a director or an actor.”

-Neil Burger, Director of The Illusionist

“Nancy Bishop is one of the smartest casting directors in the business, and I’m proud to have her as a member of our crew. She has cast supporting roles on nearly all of Stillking’s productions.”

- Matthew Stillman, Stillking films, Co-producer of Casino Royale