YOU SHOULD KNOW: Allison Jones (casting director)

NOTE: I HAVE NO AFFILIATION WHATSOEVER WITH ALLISON JONES.  I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO CONTACT HER.  THIS IS JUST A FANPOST, AS SOMEONE WHO APPRECIATES THE WORK SHE'S DONE.

Do you watch television, or movies? Do you have good taste in the aforementioned media? If so, then you've probably seen something cast by Allison Jones. She's kind of amazing.

Allison has been in the casting industry since at least 1985, that year working in the casting department of Golden Girls and as the casting director for a comedy horror movie, Hard Rock Zombies, and on the show Family Ties.

Yeah, yeah, those are things I'd probably choose to read a years-old Us Weekly rather than watch if they were playing in the waiting room of the plasma donation center that is currently my only source of income, but Family Ties? That's fracking Michael J. Fox right there. And though Allison didn't work on Ties during its first season, that kind of golden casting genius clearly rubbed off on her.

Ms. Jones worked in casting steadily through the eighties and nineties, nothing really that notable (some Fresh Prince episodes, the Roswell pilot, mostly NBC stuff), and then, in 1999, she hit awesome. She worked as the casting director for the pilot on the network-axed but now-cult-classic Freaks and Geeks. Yes, the writing and directing of this show float above us at uncommonly high levels of astounding, but would this show's box-set be in my DVD collection if it were not for the actors portraying these beloved characters? Maybe, but a person can hardly imagine Bill Haverchuck without Martin Starr, or Ken Miller without Seth Rogen. And essentially everyone on this program went on to do other mind-bendingly fantastic work. Even Stephen Lea Shepphard (Harris Trinsky) went on to be in The Royal Tenenbaums. Or just think about all the guest stars in Freaks and Geeks -- Jason Schwartzman, Ben Foster, Rashida Jones, Lizzy Caplan -- who after F&G went on to prove they were all kinds of wonderful. In 2000, Allison Jones and casting executives Coreen Mayrs and Jill Greenberg won an Emmy for "Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series" on Freaks and Geeks, and they deserved that hunk of metal.

Since Freaks and Geeks, Allison has continued her television track-record of casting bad-assery, being Emmy-nominated for "Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series" for the epic likes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004, 2006, 2008), Arrested Development (2005), United States of Tara (2009, cast the pilot), and The Office (2009). She is well-known for her ability to help put together realistic ensembles with phenomenally good chemistry. A frequent collaborator with Judd Apatow and others, Allison Jones has also worked on Undeclared and Parks & Recreation, and the movies Superbad, Borat, Knocked Up, Hot Rod, and The 40 Year Old Virgin, among many more. If you haven't seen all of this shit, then... shame on you and your family, man.


People want to be on The Office

But awards aside, Allison Jones has a fantastic eye. And not just, you know, for the spectacular leads she's scrounged up for pilot season, but for the little parts, too.

In an interview about her trek to stardom, Jenna Fischer (Pam on The Office) mentions that it was Allison who really propelled her career into existence:

So, how did I get The Office? Spin City was cast by Allison Jones... She became a fan of mine through a series of auditions. I kept going into her office year after year auditioning for different things. I got some and not others but she kept bringing me back... Allison remembered me when it was time to cast The Office. She called me to audition and I finally got the part.

Loyalty. Appreciation. Allison Jones seems to like the talented actors she casts as much as we do. When she finds someone good for a role, even just a tiny one, she'll bring them back if they're deserving. Jenna Fischer is on The Office and was on Spin City, but remember how she was also on Undeclared as that sorority girl? Or how Rashida Jones was Karen Scarfolli on Freaks and Geeks, and Karen Filippelli on The Office, and Ann Perkins on Parks & Recreation? Dude, whenever Allison Jones casts someone, you kind of know that their autograph will be worth hundreds on eBay in a couple of years.

So the next time you're considering a TV show or a movie with unfamiliar stars, maybe look further than the director when deciding whether to watch it. Allison Jones just may have cast it into excellence.