{"id":6076,"date":"2025-04-28T18:44:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T18:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/?p=6076"},"modified":"2025-05-01T18:18:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:18:06","slug":"nosferatu-casting-director-reveals-brutal-reason-lily-rose-depp-nearly-didnt-get-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/nosferatu-casting-director-reveals-brutal-reason-lily-rose-depp-nearly-didnt-get-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Nosferatu casting director reveals brutal reason Lily-Rose Depp nearly didn\u2019t get the job"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Lily-Rose\t<\/div>
Casting director Kharmel Cochrane has been candid about her views on Lily-Rose Depp before she auditioned for Nosferatu (Picture: Focus Features via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nosferatu<\/a>\u2019s casting director has admitted she was adamantly against giving Lily-Rose Depp a main role in the horror movie<\/a> because she \u2018couldn\u2019t act\u2019.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old French American actress has been establishing her own name as an actress in Hollywood, separately to that of her famous parents \u2013 Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp<\/a>, 61, and French musician and actress Vanessa Paradis, 52.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s appeared in films including Voyagers, Silent Night and Netflix<\/a>\u2019s The King, opposite Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a> and Robert Pattinson, as well as taking the lead role in The Weeknd\u2019s much-maligned HBO TV series The Idol<\/a> in 2023, which garnered the most attention of her career to that date.<\/p>\n

But British casting director Kharmel Cochrane, who worked on Robert Eggers\u2019 atmospheric vampire flick<\/a>, has revealed Depp\u2019s acting talents had left her far from convinced initially.<\/p>\n

Discussing how she has been \u2018an opinionated person from day one\u2019 in her chosen profession \u2013 \u2018I was the assistant who wouldn’t make tea\u2019 \u2013 Cochrane revealed that she was not afraid to admit when she was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u2018With Nosferatu, I was like, \u201cAbsolutely no way to Lily-Rose Depp\u201d. I didn’t think she could act. I hadn\u2019t seen anything that I thought could show she could act,\u2019 Cochrane told the audience, including Metro<\/strong>, at the Sands International Film Festival of St Andrews on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22989122 lazyload\" alt=\""This Much I Know" with Kharmel Cochrane\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2212104101.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Cochrane, 38, was initially sceptical over Depp’s acting, but revealed she texted her afterwards to apologise (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018And I’m not even bothered by the nepotism thing; I think that\u2019s a whole other conversation.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And then she auditioned, and I had to text her and say, \u201cI’m sorry, I was wrong\u201d \u2013 because I was, and I\u2019ve got no shame in saying if I’m not right,\u2019 the industry professional added.<\/p>\n<section class=\"metro-comment-cta\">\n<div class=\"metro-comment-cta__inner\"><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text-wrap\"><title>Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">What did you think of Nosferatu?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Depp went on to garner some of the best reviews of her career so far in Nosferatu, a <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/07\/12\/fans-say-waited-102-years-masterpiece-horror-reboot-21214423\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remake of the classic 1922 silent film<\/a>, where she played Ellen Hutter, a young woman tortured by a psychic connection to the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/04\/16\/renfield-cinemas-draculas-ranked-as-nicolas-cage-dons-famous-fangs-18610532\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">evil, demonic and Dracula-esque vampire<\/a>, Count Orlok (<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/12\/18\/nosferatu-terrifying-star-never-wants-play-something-this-evil-again-22209316\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an unrecognisable Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>As well as inspiring Oscar talk, the actress also impressed fans with her intense physical acting during scenes where she was writhing and thrashing around on her bed, possessed by Orlok.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22989073 lazyload\" alt=\"Willem Dafoe as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz in a top hat and overcoat, and Lily-Rose Depp in a black bonnet and cloak, stand together looking shocked in a snowy cemetery in Nosferatu\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_234157623-ab8e.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Depp (pictured R, with Willem Dafoe) was roundly praised by critics for her performance in the Robert Eggers’ vampire horror film (Picture: Focus Features via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cochrane also spoke about other \u2018weird conversations\u2019 she\u2019s had behind the scenes when casting projects, which <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/11\/09\/barry-keoghans-extreme-saltburn-scenes-are-most-shocking-in-years-19794598\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">include Saltburn<\/a>, Warfare and A Quiet Place: Day One, as well as giving <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/anya-taylor-joy\/\">Anya Taylor-Joy <\/a>her breakthrough role in 2015\u2019s The Witch \u2013 also directed by Nosferatu\u2019s Robert Eggers, a key collaborator for the casting director.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Morfydd Clark, when we cast her in Saint Maud, somebody who shall not be named said, basically, on my head be it. And I was like, \u201cOkay, yeah, Fine\u201d. And she was great!\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Discussing the moment she decided casting was the career for her, Cochrane revealed that she had championed another young British acting talent in the past.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"450\" height=\"594\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22989115 lazyload\" alt=\""The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power" Season Two World Premiere - Arrivals\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2167608538.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Morfydd Clark, who stars in Prime Video’s budget-busting The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, was an actress Cochrane went to bat for in another film (Picture: Mike Marsland\/WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"942\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22988772 lazyload\" alt=\"Mandatory Credit: Photo by Anthony Harvey\/REX\/Shutterstock (14329561az) Kharmel Cochrane 44th London Critics' Circle Film Awards, Arrivals, London, UK - 04 Feb 2024\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_249222640-316e.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The casting director’s other credits include Warfare and Saltburn (Picture: Anthony Harvey\/Rex\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018There was a role for an Asian boy, and I’d been watching Skins. So I said, \u201cOh, there’s this guy, Dev Patel\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>‘And with commercials, you didn’t really get in touch with film actors, it’s such a separate thing. And they auditioned Dev and another actor, and they gave it to the other actor \u2013 big mistake \u2013 and suddenly I was like, \u201cOh, I had an opinion and someone listened to it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Then I kind of connected the dots and was like, so this is going to be how it works.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Upcoming projects that Cochrane has cast include Emerald Fennell\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/09\/24\/jacob-elordis-wuthering-heights-casting-sparks-backlash-fans-point-major-flaw-21660852\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">much-discussed adaptation of Wuthering Heights<\/a>, as well as Lena Dunham\u2019s next project, Good Sex starring <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/natalie-portman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Natalie Portman<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/kristen-stewart\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kristen Stewart<\/a>\u2019s directorial debut The Chronology of Water, which is set to premiere at <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/cannes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cannes Film Festival<\/a> next month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Casting director Kharmel Cochrane has been candid about her views on Lily-Rose Depp before she auditioned for Nosferatu (Picture: Focus Features via AP) Nosferatu\u2019s casting director has admitted she was adamantly against giving Lily-Rose Depp a main role in the horror movie because she \u2018couldn\u2019t act\u2019. The 25-year-old French American actress has been establishing her own name as an actress in Hollywood, separately to that of her famous parents \u2013 Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp, 61, and French … <a href=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/nosferatu-casting-director-reveals-brutal-reason-lily-rose-depp-nearly-didnt-get-the-job\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> “Nosferatu casting director reveals brutal reason Lily-Rose Depp nearly didn\u2019t get the job”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6076"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6083,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6076\/revisions\/6083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}