Margery Simkin

Margery Simkin

Margery Simkin is an acclaimed American Casting Director with a career spanning over four decades in film and television, renowned for assembling the ensembles of some of Hollywood's most iconic and successful projects. Originally from Metuchen, New Jersey, she attended UC Santa Cruz before starting her career in the arts, eventually stumbling into casting in New York City after initially taking a job finding non-professional actors for films like Fame (1980). Her notable early film credits established her reputation for recognizing talent in landmark films such as Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986)—where she notably fought for the casting of Val Kilmer—Brazil (1985), and Field of Dreams (1989). Simkin has had a highly successful and frequent collaboration with director James Cameron, serving as the casting director for the entirety of the Avatar franchise, including Avatar (2009), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and the upcoming sequels. Her other major credits include 12 Monkeys (1995), In & Out (1997), Bowfinger (1999), the Oscar-winning Erin Brockovich (2000), Marley & Me (2008), and Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim (2013). In television, she is a key casting force for the Star Trek universe, notably for the series Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and has also worked on series like American Gods and the animated series Blue Eye Samurai. Margery Simkin is a highly respected figure in the industry, having been nominated for numerous Artios Awards (the highest honor for casting directors) for her ability to discover and perfectly match actors to complex roles across multiple genres.

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