Name: Irena Simic

Position:  Casting Director/ Casting Agent of Almost Famous Casting Agency

How I got here: I studied Business and Marketing in Germany but found that it wasn’t for me. So I decided to leave everything behind and move to Cape Town to get started in the film industry. I started off as a chaperon: My first job was to look after the singer Shaggy which was very exiting for a small town girl. Through meeting the right people and working very hard, in 2005 I became a Cast Co-ordinator and soon after I casted for my first international TV ad! I’ve been doing it ever since for various products like Cola-Cola, Nintendo Wii, Vodafone, Nestle etc. In 2006 I joined forces with Almost Famous, the Casting/Character Agency and am currently the Manager as well as the Casting Director.

I love my job because... it’s exiting, its fun, it’s always different, it’s challenging, it’s competitive and it’s not for everybody. Finding the right person/actor/model for the job after all the hard work and seeing the end result on TV later makes me super proud!

The thing that drives me crazy is... indecisive clients, no organisation and silliness.

You'll love my job if you are... creative, vision driven, open minded, flexible, not shy… And a little bit crazy.