Pay not stated
Posted Sep 4
Richmond casting calls
Find film, commercial, background, student-film, and body-double opportunities across Central Virginia. Richmond offers something unusually helpful: the state's own casting hotline posts paid roles only.
17 open calls · updated todayFree to submitPaid roles only on the state hotlineA movie musical was in fittings in August 2026
Pay not stated
Posted Sep 4
Pay not stated
Posted Sep 3
The best free casting resource of any city on this site
Virginia publishes many casting calls with the rates attached
Most film offices publish a production directory for producers. Virginia's runs a casting hotline for actors — and it carries more detail than most paid platforms.
Virginia Film Office · Casting Hotline
Free, live, and specific
What the hotline gives you that most boards do not.
The rate
Named on many postings
The dates
Specific shoot days
The casting director
Named, not anonymous
How to submit
Direct, no platform fee
And the film office says this on every listing:
The Virginia Film Office is not affiliated with this project and it is up to the participants to get more details directly from the company.
That is a government body running a free service and stating plainly that it does not vet the postings. It is the most honest framing on any casting resource we have looked at — and it comes with an instruction you should follow: vet every production yourself.
The office has also publicly warned the Virginia film community about a circulating industry job scam. Take the hotline seriously and take the disclaimer seriously; both are doing their job.
Observed on live Richmond postings, August 2026
What Richmond acting work may pay
Richmond postings name a dollar figure more often than most markets we have looked at, which makes the pay picture here unusually clear. Here is the whole range, floor included.
Live Richmond postings · August 2026 · illustrative, not a schedule
Richmond rates
Faith-based series, backgroundCredit and reel footage only
Unpaid
One-day project shootSmall independent production
$150
90-minute sessionPaid by digital card
$175
Short film, lead or supportingIndependent, non-union, per day
$175–200
Student film — VCUartsCast through a professional casting office
$200–225
SAG-AFTRA ULB short — body doublePer day, two days required
$257
Mobile app shootPer 12-hour day, non-union
$500 + 10%
Pet food commercialPer day
$750
CommercialPer day
$1,000
Real family, national retail brandTwo days, roughly six hours each
$1,500 total
Look at the top and bottom together. Unpaid faith-based background at one end, a $1,000 day and a $1,500 family booking at the other. Richmond has no dominant employer setting a going rate — which means the number on a posting is the negotiation, not the standard.
The structure nobody explains
Richmond rates often change with the responsibility of the role
One independent short posted two rates on the same project, for two different parts:
One Richmond independent short · two roles · one production
Male, 50s–60s
$100 / hr
Supporting role
Female, 20s
$75 / hr
Supporting role
Same production, same day, different money. Rates here are negotiated per part rather than set by a scale — so the figure on a posting tells you about that role, not about what Richmond pays.
And Richmond quotes hourly more than most markets
Texas and Florida postings run on day rates. A large share of Richmond notices quote an hourly figure instead. Do the arithmetic before comparing. $75 an hour on a six-hour day is $450 — better than most day rates on this page. $75 an hour on a two-hour call is not.
Always check the stated call length, not just the rate.
Five offices casting locally
Who casts in Richmond
This is a market where casting attaches to productions rather than sitting in standing offices with public databases — so knowing the names matters more than it would in Atlanta. All five below were casting Richmond projects in August 2026.
CDC Extras CastingBooking fittings in August 2026 for an untitled movie musical shooting in Richmond, and building a file of current paid-up SAG-AFTRA members. Fittings means a production is already in motion rather than speculative.
August 2026Anne Chapman CastingOne of the market's most consistently active offices. Confirmed casting a SAG-AFTRA ultra low budget short in August 2026, and also casts VCUarts student productions.
August 2026Kendall Cooper CastingRichmond-based. Confirmed casting children for a feature shooting in Gloucester, Virginia.
August 2026Victoria ChapaCasting a Richmond-area independent feature.
August 2026Skylar LanierNamed on Richmond short film notices.
August 2026A submission policy worth reading
One busy Richmond office publishes plainly that submitting does not guarantee an audition, that you will be contacted if selected, and that every submission is considered. It also states it runs a room where all voices are treated equally regardless of age, sex, race, religion, language, culture, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Most beginners read silence as a personal rejection. It usually is not — and this office has said so in writing.
The beginner route that actually pays
VCU helps generate a steady stream of emerging-film work
VCUarts Cinema is the single biggest source of Richmond casting activity — and unlike student film in most cities, it pays, and it casts non-students through a professional casting office.
Observed day rates of $200 to $225, cast through the same office that handles ultra low budget features. That puts a student production above several paid independent shorts on the rate table.
Why that is unusual and worth acting on
In most markets, student film means unpaid, chaotic and cast by the students themselves. Here it means a professional casting process, a real rate and footage from a programme with equipment. If you are building a reel in Richmond, this is the route.
The honest answer to a common question
Your best representation may be outside Richmond
Virginia's production centre and its agency centre are not the same city, and nobody writes this down.
Richmond has almost no resident talent agencies — a major industry directory returns two profiles for the entire city. Richmond-based working actors are routinely represented out of Hampton Roads, in southeast Virginia, or from the DC and Northern Virginia corridor.
So do not judge yourself by the wrong yardstick
If you have been submitting to Richmond agencies and hearing nothing, it may not be you. There may not be enough of them. Widen the search to Hampton Roads and the DC corridor — that is where Richmond actors actually sign.
The rule underneath, wherever you sign: a real agent earns commission on work you book. Money never flows from you to them first. SAG-AFTRA franchises agents, not managers.
Where the work is posted
Beyond this board
Virginia Film Office hotlineFree and live. Paid roles only, unless it's a student project.The Southern Casting CallRegional aggregator covering the Southeast, Virginia includedVCUarts CinemaCasting for its films is handled by a professional casting officeSAG-AFTRA franchised agentsSearch the list under the Wash-Mid Atlantic localAgencies beyond RichmondBackstage's DC and Mid-Atlantic agency roundup, published September 2023All Virginia casting callsFour regions, four different markets
Quick answers
Common questions
Is there enough work here to make a living?
On its own, for most people, no — and the rate spread tells you why. What Richmond offers is a low cost of living, published rates so you can price your time honestly, a paying university programme, and a market small enough that being known is achievable.
Should I take the unpaid work?
Only deliberately. There is unpaid background here offering credit and footage, and if your reel is empty that is a fair trade once or twice. It is not a career. When a posting names its rate, you can see exactly what you are giving up.
How do I get on the extras list for the big productions?
Register directly with the casting offices working them rather than waiting for a public call. A feature booking fittings has already built its file — get onto it before the next one arrives.
Do I need to be SAG-AFTRA?
Not for most Richmond work, which is non-union independent and commercial. But union productions do shoot here and specifically seek paid-up members — so it does open doors, and the ultra low budget agreements are the usual on-ramp.
Nearby and related
Other markets within reach
Hampton Roads — 95 milesNorthern Virginia — 100 milesWashington DC — 110 milesAll Virginia casting calls
Hampton Roads is the one Richmond actors genuinely drive — because that is where the agencies are. Ninety-five miles is a real trip and they do it anyway.
Know the rate before you give up the day
Set a Richmond alert and you will see what each job pays alongside the role — which is the whole advantage of working in a market where the rates are published.
Set a Richmond alert✓Free to browse and submit✓No card required✓We never charge for an audition