Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robin Lippin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Robin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

They lived their lives with kindness, generosity, honesty and integrity. They also always believed in me and my potential. All of that impacted me to follow their footsteps in how I conducted myself in business and in life.
I never felt by being a casting director, I had power over anyone or used my position to make actors feel less than. I’ve always tried to be fair and honest with actors and with agents and managers. I didn’t want to lead anyone on or make promises I couldn’t keep. If an actor read for me who gave a great reading but I knew their look or type wasn’t what the producer or director wanted, sometimes I would tell them directly. I’d say you’re not going to get this part because of these reasons but you are a wonderful actor and I will definitely remember you for future projects. I found that actors were so appreciative.
I also rarely told someone they did a great job when they didn’t or promise a call back when it was not going to happen. I worked for someone early in my career who would tell actors she was bringing them back and had no intention. That was so upsetting to me, to give someone false hope.
When an actor came in to read for me, I wanted them to feel comfortable and that they had a great experience. Then they can do the best job possible.

Robin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My sister used to be an actress and I also loved going to Broadway shows growing up. I also watched a lot of television. I used to write reviews for my college newspaper. I majored in Communications at Boston University. I worked for a soap opera in NYC as a runner, delivering scripts all over the city. It wasn’t something I wanted to continue doing. I decided to move out to Los Angeles to get job experience, always thinking I’d move back to NY once I got it. That never happened because my career kept my busy.
I wanted to be either a casting director or an agent. I started out working at a couple of Talent agencies. One of them had the biggest stars in Hollywood. They repped Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Hopkins and more. All of the agents were male and older and I knew after a few months, there was no room to advance. I was offered a couple of jobs in casting as an assistant. I went on to work on Charlie’s Angels. I was promoted to a Casting Director after one year. Aaron Spelling gave me my start and I worked for him for 7 years on different series. One of the biggest things I had to learn was becoming more familiar with older actors. I watched TV non stop and had a few missteps along the way by suggesting someone who was so wrong for the role. Luckily, Aaron had a sense of humor.
I think one of the biggest lessons I learned was how to be political. Not everyone wants to know your opinion and you need to know when to offer it and when to hold back. Aaron welcomed my opinion but I worked on a pilot for a major network and they didn’t. I thought they hired me because they wanted to know my thoughts. I found out quickly that when the network suggests someone, they want them seen by the producers. I was only 23 and it was all new to me.
When I have a lot of input and it works out by putting together a great cast, I feel amazing. It doesn’t always work out that way as the higher ups will make the decisions but there were def some projects where I felt great about each person cast.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After I left Aaron Spelling and went on my own there were many challenges. My brother in law had created a pilot and I went back to NY to cast it. When I came back to LA, I was out of work for about 4 months. I was embarrassed to go out because people would always want to know what I was working on and I had nothing to say. I started talking to myself and I thought when you are working, it’s not always great so enjoy the time when you’re not and have faith in yourself. I also didn’t want to be all about my job, I knew I was more than my career. After 4 months, I was lucky enough to have a friend/angel, Lori Openden, who introduced me to casting comedy. She was head of casting at NBC and she believed in me. I ended up casting the series Baby Boom and Saved By The Bell. I had a great 10 year run of series, tv movie and pilots.
I think the biggest lesson is that you are not your job and working on yourself to attain confidence and have faith in all aspects, for me, was the goal.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I enjoy studying actors I see in different mediums and remembering them when I have something that I can bring them in on.
It is so rewarding when I see the cast put together and how they each contribute. I think being in a creative space where I can bring people joy and a form of escapism makes me feel great. I admire many other creative people and all the ways they demonstrate their creativity. There are so many avenues.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @robinlippin

Image Credits

Carol Burnett headshot when I cast Carol & Company for Carol.
Romeo with my producer Stuart Wolf and director John Susman on the set of Game Day, an indie feature that shot in Chicago.
Me with Gena Rowlands on the set of an indie feature, shot on a cell phone before it was common, Olive was the movie,