Rachel Mannings - Essex Girl
Harriet Collins - Country Girl
As an 18 year old, Harriet's character is the opposite to Rachel as she appears sweet and innocent on the outside but has an inner bitchy, nasty side to her character. However, she is a general attention seeker who loves male attention. Like Rachel, her favourite colour is pink and she loves the car her parents gave her for her birthday. Though a little behind in lessons, Harriet aspires to be a vet. In casting we will be looking for someone who looks innocent, preferably with blonde hair to connote this, and has the ability to flirt and act nasty effectively. A similar character to Harriet's would be Rachel McAdams from Mean Girls (2004, film) as she appears flirty and nice but can be horrible behind people's back and it will be these qualities that we look for when casting Harriet. It would also be a bonus if the actor lived close to our filming locations.
Marcus Brooker - The Pub Owner's Son/Homosexual
Marcus' character is a little quiet and reserved, hiding his homosexuality from his father who wishes him to take over the family business and manage the local pub. Marcus is around 17, deciding his career paths and would much rather be a hairdresser than a pub owner. In his spare time, Marcus takes interest in things such as football but enjoys watching reality TV shows and his favourite film is Love Actually. He is also adopted which opens up the ethnicity of Marcus' character since he is not biologically related to his parents. As a guide, we will be looking for someone similar to Christian Clarke or Syed Massood from EastEnders as they are homosexuals represented in an area similar to our setting. They are both kind and caring characters which is what we will be looking for in Marcus' character. Furthermore, we will be looking for an actor who can successfully portray a reserved character and someone who lives nearby for filming.
Ryan Parker - The Mechanic
Ryan is a flirty, mischievous character who has two main interests: cars and women. He is in his early twenties, attractive and he knows it and is therefore slightly arrogant. His current love interest is Harriet but he just loves the attention. Ryan's character also enjoys playing football, going to the pub and chatting up girls but hates people who don't know how to have a good time and, when casting, we must ensure that we find someone confident and out-going in order to play this part. His character is also similar to that of Sean from EastEnders as he shared the same flirty, charming personality and is also attractive so we will use him as a basis of what we want our actor to be like. It would also help if the actor casted lived close to where we will be filming.
Jennifer's character is a secret seductress who appears innocent and friendly on the surface. As a carer, she's always willing to help people, especially those in need, and is a well-rounded person. However, Jennifer's secretive side reveals that she's pregnant but does not know who the father is: Barry or, his best friend, Charlie who is married. She enjoys going to her yoga classes to take a break from life but has a short temper. As a middle-aged woman, we will be looking for an actor of that age of any ethnicity to ensure verisimilitude for the audience. For the trailer, the actor will have to show worry and tension without making it obvious and so we will look for someone who has good body language and facial expression. The character of Tanya Branning from EastEnders is a good guideline as she has a similar personality to Jennifer.
Barry is Marcus' father and is oblivious to his son's sexuality and desired career choice. He spends most of his time at the pub chatting with the locals and having a few pints himself before going home and putting his feet up... or going to visit Jennifer. Barry's character is nice, friendly guy who enjoys going shooting with his best friend, Charlie, who he has known since childhood, watching football and complaining about everyone else. However, he does have a tough side and a zero tolerance policy on drunk teens. In his late 40s, Barry is thinking about the future and hoping that Marcus will take over the family business and so we need a suitable actor of around the same age to Barry's character. As his son is adopted, the actor can be of any ethnicity to ensure verisimilitude for the audience though it would benefit us if they could easily access the filming locations at the time we need them. A character similar to Barry's would be Grant Mitchell from EastEnders. They're both pub owners and have similar personalities, ideal as inspiration for our pub owner character.
Charlie's character is in his early 50s and the owner of the farm at the end of Mill Lane. Best friends with the pub owner, Barry, he enjoys hunting with him as well as working on the farm with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Harriet. However, he does not approve of Harriet's love interest, Ryan, seeing the arrogant, nasty side to his character that Harriet does not. Charlie also enjoys spending time with his neighbour, Jennifer, helping her with her garden and fixing things around the house. Generally, Charlie is an honest, stern and sincere man but also has his fun side which comes out after a few drinks. He enjoys attending horse racing events, taking walks and writing and refuses to watch reality TV shows. As a guide, we will use the character of John Barton from Emmerdale in order to find the perfect actor since he's also a dedicated family man but with an adventurous. It would also be preferable if he lived near our filming location for convenience.
Simon Claude - The Priest
Simon's character is friendly to those around his middle-aged year group and especially enjoys helping the elderly and homeless. He is a generous man and has high values, disliking those who have sex before marriage, affairs or who just cause general trouble for those around him since he has to hear about it at church. Simon likes taking his dog for walks, watching 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' and painting when he isn't at church or helping at the homeless shelter helping out. Though he has had a few girlfriends in the past, he is looking for that special someone to spend the rest of his life with. For Simon's character, we will be casting someone who looks genuine but also has good facial expressions in order to show his distaste for Rachel as she passes in her car. As an example, the character of Ashley Thomas from Emmerdale would fit this role as he is a good samaritan. The actor would also preferably live near our filming locations.
Edith Jones - The Old Woman/Wise One
Edith's character is the wise woman who always seems to know what's coming next. At age 70, she's seen her fair share and has learned from experience and watched the others in Mill Lane make the same mistakes she has even with warning. Currently, Jennifer is her carer and, in return, she is helping Jennifer come to terms with her pregnancy, advising her on what to do next. Similar to Dot from EastEnders, Edith's character is sweet and funny though is not afraid to stand up to people when she thinks someone is wrong. Preferably, the actor playing Edith would be of an older generation so that it's more realistic for the audience and is close to our filming locations.
Charlotte Morrison
