Jan Russ
Encyclopedia
Jan Russ is an Australian Casting director
and actor best known for her work on the soap opera Neighbours
from the show's beginning in 1985 to her departure in 2009. Russ was also the casting director on Prisoner
until the show's cancellation. In 2009, Russ made a guest appearance in City Homicide
, the first time she had acted since 1982.
. She later worked in professional theatre shows such as Oliver!
, Fiddler on the Roof
and Godspell
. Russ lived in New Zealand while she worked in musical theatre and appeared on television shows. She later decided to move behind the camera and worked as a Production Assistant and Floor Manager, which made her the first female to do so.
During the 1960s, Russ gave birth to a daughter. She was forced to give the child up for adoption as she was young and unwed. Russ' story was later turned into a play, The Show Must Go On, which was written by Robyn Bishop and directed by Mike Bishop. Russ later gave birth to a son.
. In the early 1980s, Ian Smith
called Russ and asked if she would like to meet with the Producer at Grundy Television
, Russ met the producer and was offered the job of casting director on the television show Prisoner
. Russ worked on the show for eighteen months until its cancellation.
Russ began working as the casting director on Neighbours in 1985 and she cast the regular and guest cast roles throughout her time with the show. She is credited with discovering many of the show's stars who have gone on to forge international careers, including Delta Goodrem
, Natalie Imbruglia
, Guy Pearce
and Jesse Spencer
. In 1986, she cast a young Kylie Minogue
and Jason Donovan
in their famous roles of Charlene Mitchell
and Scott Robinson
. Russ' casting talent has led her to be called "Australia's most enduring star-maker" and she later became the show's associate producer.
In 2006, Russ was responsible for choosing the winners of Dolly magazine's search for Neighbours' next big stars competition. She had to go through seven thousand taped entries over several weeks, before starting live auditions. Adelaide Kane
(Lolly Allen) and Sam Clark
(Ringo Brown
) were eventually chosen and given a three month contract with the show. The Dolly competition ran again in 2008 and Russ handpicked Mauricio Merino, Jr.
and Chelsea Jones to star as Simon and Tegan Freeman respectively.
In March 2009, Russ' future with Neighbours was called into question following a backstage "shakeup". It was announced that FremantleMedia, the show's makers, were planning to bring in an external casting agency. Fremantle's spokesman said "The casting role is critical to the show, it is an enormous job and it continues to grow by the day. We continue to discuss with Jan her role with the show, as her skill and talents are incredible". Two months later, it was announced that Russ was is in discussions about her future with the show and about her involvement in the Dolly magazine competition and the 25th Anniversary. Russ worked as casting director for Grundy Television and FremantleMedia
for a total of twenty-five years.
In 2010, it was revealed that Russ would be casting a new television project, created and developed by the McMahon Entertainment Group.
, Homicide and The Clinic. Russ had a guest role as Mrs Daniels on Prisoner before she became the casting director.
Russ appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
in 2009 and in September of that year, she made a guest appearance in City Homicide
alongside Daniel MacPherson
, whom she cast in Neighbours in 1998 when he was 16 years old. Russ had not performed on television since Prisoner in 1982. Her character was Robyn Turner, a community volunteer. Russ said she received an email from the City Homicide casting team, which said there was a role they wanted to see her for and would she be interested in auditioning. Russ call her audition "bizarre" and "strange".
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
and actor best known for her work on the soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
from the show's beginning in 1985 to her departure in 2009. Russ was also the casting director on Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
until the show's cancellation. In 2009, Russ made a guest appearance in City Homicide
City Homicide
City Homicide was an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 – 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne...
, the first time she had acted since 1982.
Early and personal life
Russ was a member of the Maribyrnong Youth Club when she was younger. In 1956, Russ, along with her drama group, won the Victorian Association of Youth Club's drama championship. Russ played Alice in an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. She later worked in professional theatre shows such as Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
, Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
and Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
. Russ lived in New Zealand while she worked in musical theatre and appeared on television shows. She later decided to move behind the camera and worked as a Production Assistant and Floor Manager, which made her the first female to do so.
During the 1960s, Russ gave birth to a daughter. She was forced to give the child up for adoption as she was young and unwed. Russ' story was later turned into a play, The Show Must Go On, which was written by Robyn Bishop and directed by Mike Bishop. Russ later gave birth to a son.
Casting career
When Russ moved back to Australia, she began working as the casting assistant for Crawford ProductionsCrawford Productions
Crawford Productions is an Australian television production company founded by Hector Crawford; the present incarnation of the company, Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the WIN television corporation.-History:...
. In the early 1980s, Ian Smith
Ian Smith (actor)
Ian Smith is an Australian soap opera character actor and television screenwriter, best known today for his long-running role as the caring, kindly coffee shop owner Harold Bishop in the soap opera Neighbours....
called Russ and asked if she would like to meet with the Producer at Grundy Television
Reg Grundy Organisation
The Reg Grundy Organisation was an Australian television production company founded in 1959 by businessman Reg Grundy . It has since branched out into Europe and the USA. The company first produced game shows, before branching into soap operas in 1973...
, Russ met the producer and was offered the job of casting director on the television show Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
. Russ worked on the show for eighteen months until its cancellation.
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
, Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
, Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
and Jesse Spencer
Jesse Spencer
Jesse Gordon Spencer is an Australian actor and musician. He is best known for his current portrayal of Dr. Robert Chase on the medical drama House and for playing Billy Kennedy in the Australian soap-opera Neighbours....
. In 1986, she cast a young Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
and Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
in their famous roles of Charlene Mitchell
Charlene Robinson
Charlene Edna Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Kylie Minogue. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 April 1986 when she came to join her mother Madge in Ramsay Street. Charlene was a tomboy and later worked as a Mechanic...
and Scott Robinson
Scott Robinson (Neighbours)
Scott James Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jason Donovan. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, in the show's first episode. Scott was originally played by Darius Perkins until he was recast.-Casting:Darius...
. Russ' casting talent has led her to be called "Australia's most enduring star-maker" and she later became the show's associate producer.
In 2006, Russ was responsible for choosing the winners of Dolly magazine's search for Neighbours
Adelaide Kane
Adelaide Kane is an Australian actress.-Biography:She is good friends with Caitlin Stasey, Eliza Taylor-Cotter, and Sianoa Smit-McPhee, who were also on Neighbours.-Career:...
(Lolly Allen) and Sam Clark
Sam Clark
-Studio albums:-Singles:-Music videos:-Filmography:-Awards and nominations:-External links:* on SoundCloud...
(Ringo Brown
Ringo Brown
Ringo Brown is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Sam Clark. Clark was given the role after he entered and won a Dolly magazine competition. He made his first on-screen appearance on 24 January 2007...
) were eventually chosen and given a three month contract with the show. The Dolly competition ran again in 2008 and Russ handpicked Mauricio Merino, Jr.
Mauricio Merino, Jr.
Mauricio Merino Jr is a Professional Actor and Model best known for his role as Simon Freedman on the soap opera Neighbours and re-curring role on HBO's mini series The Pacific.-Personal life:...
and Chelsea Jones to star as Simon and Tegan Freeman respectively.
In March 2009, Russ' future with Neighbours was called into question following a backstage "shakeup". It was announced that FremantleMedia, the show's makers, were planning to bring in an external casting agency. Fremantle's spokesman said "The casting role is critical to the show, it is an enormous job and it continues to grow by the day. We continue to discuss with Jan her role with the show, as her skill and talents are incredible". Two months later, it was announced that Russ was is in discussions about her future with the show and about her involvement in the Dolly magazine competition and the 25th Anniversary. Russ worked as casting director for Grundy Television and FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
for a total of twenty-five years.
In 2010, it was revealed that Russ would be casting a new television project, created and developed by the McMahon Entertainment Group.
Acting
Russ has had acting roles in Division 4Division 4
Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
, Homicide and The Clinic. Russ had a guest role as Mrs Daniels on Prisoner before she became the casting director.
Russ appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
in 2009 and in September of that year, she made a guest appearance in City Homicide
City Homicide
City Homicide was an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 – 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne...
alongside Daniel MacPherson
Daniel MacPherson
Daniel Donald MacPherson is an Australian actor and television presenter, best known for his roles as; Joel Samuels on Neighbours, PC Cameron Tait on British police drama The Bill, and Detective Senior Constable Simon Joyner in City Homicide...
, whom she cast in Neighbours in 1998 when he was 16 years old. Russ had not performed on television since Prisoner in 1982. Her character was Robyn Turner, a community volunteer. Russ said she received an email from the City Homicide casting team, which said there was a role they wanted to see her for and would she be interested in auditioning. Russ call her audition "bizarre" and "strange".