Film Career · Casting
Senior Casting Producer
Casting · Teamsters Local 399 (casting directors); varies
- Union
- Teamsters Local 399
- Day rate
- ~$50K–$250K/yr
- Experience
- 5–12 yrs
What does a Senior Casting Producer do?
A senior casting producer holds one of the senior positions in the casting department, combining craft mastery with responsibility for outcomes.
Union coverage for the position varies: teamsters local 399 (casting directors); varies. Like every casting role, the job is hired production by production, and repeat work comes from department heads who trust the name on the call sheet.
What does a Senior Casting Producer make?
- Casting is paid per project or weekly: assistants and coordinators run modest day rates, and casting directors roughly $25K-$100K+ per feature.
- Roughly $50K-$250K a year (Teamsters Local 399 covers casting directors in the West).
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
Government wage data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the closest federal occupation.
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know talent and can run auditions and deals
Soft skills
- You are trusted with the work that has the least room for error
- You combine craft mastery with responsibility for the outcome
The ladder
Related chairs in this craft family, ordered from entry toward leadership:
- 1Casting Producer
- 2Senior Casting Producer (this role)
- 3Supervising Casting Producer
Career progression
Within this craft family the recognized progression runs from casting producer toward supervising casting producer, with each step earned through set time and the trust of the chairs above. Where this role sits on that ladder is less important than how the casting department works: people move up when the department already believes they can do the next job.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
~$50K–$250K/yr
- Senior Casting Produceryou are here
~$50K–$250K/yr
~$50K–$250K/yr
How do you become a Senior Casting Producer?
The path here is internal: the casting department promotes this position from within, based on a track record built in its junior chairs. Start at the department's entry level and let the work argue for you.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.