DMF Episode 341 — Tiffany Little Canfield (Full Interview): Casting Wicked, Ariana Grande & Oscar Recognition for Casting Directors

DMF Episode 341 — Tiffany Little Canfield (Full Interview): Casting Wicked, Ariana Grande & Oscar Recognition for Casting Directors

July 7, 2026 · 1h 9m · Season 6 · Episode 4

About this episode

Tiffany Little Canfield discusses her journey in casting, the industry challenges, and notable projects.

Welcome to The DMF — Discovering Meaning in Film and Acting. I'm Justin Younts, and this is the complete interview with casting director Tiffany Little Canfield of Telsey Company — known for her work on Wicked, Mean Girls, and more. All three parts together. Tiffany grew up in Sacramento, got serious about acting early, moved into directing, and eventually found her way to casting — where her background on both sides of the table changed how she reads actors and approaches every project. This conversation covers all of it. We start with her path into the industry, the casting process, what actors consistently misunderstand about auditions, the impact of self-tapes, and why training never stops mattering. From there we get into the specific casting stories — A Most Violent Year, Miss Sloane, Margin Call, and Wicked. Tiffany gets into how Ariana Grande was cast as Glinda, the casting of The Wizard, Madame Morrible, and Bowen Yang, and what the process looked like on a production of that scale. We also get into casting controversies, diversity in casting, and what Tiffany actually thinks about how those conversations play out in the industry. She talks about the Academy finally…

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