Sarah Finn

Sarah Halley Finn is an American casting director and producer. Finn has cast over 150 feature films and is best known for casting the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (except 2008's The Incredible Hulk), the most successful film franchise of all time.

She also cast and co-produced Oscar winning Best Picture Everything Everywhere All at Once, the most awarded film in movie history. It won three out of four acting categories at the 95th Academy Awards: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress – a feat only achieved twice before, and not since 1976. The film also holds the record for most Screen Actors Guild Award wins for a single film.

Other works include Oscar-winning films Black Panther; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; and Crash; all of which earned Finn the Casting Society of America’s highest honor, the Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. Those films also won the prestigious SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2023 Finn was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Casting and won the Artios Zeitgeist award for her work on Everything Everywhere All At Once. In 2022, she received two Primetime Emmy nominations for her work casting WandaVision and The Mandalorian.

Career Finn's collaboration with Marvel Studios includes 38 films and 18 shows to date. In 2006, she was hired to cast the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, Iron Man, and cast Robert Downey Jr. in the titular role. The president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, has said "For all of our success in all of the films, it comes down to characters... The reason you care about those characters is because of the actors who portray them, and the reason those actors portray them is because at some point, Sarah Finn brought them to our attention.” Jac Schaeffer, who Finn collaborated with on the Emmy nominated WandaVision and later Agatha All Along, said, "[Sarah] has such incredible instincts... [She] is really great at internalizing the writer's intention and then finding a new flavor for that: something that's unexpected for the audience and will feel special or unique." pushed for Chris Hemsworth as Thor after his initial audition was rejected by higher-ups,

Finn is also accustomed to finding unknown actors to fill roles in the MCU. After a lengthy, nationwide search and several rounds of auditions to find a Pakistani-Muslim teenager to play Ms. Marvel, then high school senior Iman Vellani won the role.

Beyond Marvel, Finn cast the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and its continuation film The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026), created by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni for Lucasfilm. Past credits include: Jon Favreau's comedy, Chef; Oliver Stone's drama, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths and Shane Black’s The Nice Guys; sports films Miracle, Coach Carter, She's the Man, and Blue Crush; animated films The Little Prince, The Jungle Book (2016), and The Lion King (2019); and action films such as Fast & Furious and Kick-Ass. and member of AMPAS (Executive Committee, Casting Branch), Finn has served on the Executive Board of Women in Film (WIF) and is on the Board of Advisors for the Master Class educational series. She is also a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Awards and nominations In 2023, Finn garnered a BAFTA nomination for Best Casting as well as a Hollywood Critics Association Award nomination in recognition of her work on Everything Everywhere All at Once. In 2021, Finn was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (WandaVision) and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series (The Mandalorian). In 2026, Finn also earned a Children's and Family Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Live-Action Program for Skeleton Crew. She has also been nominated numerous times by the Casting Society of America, winning for The Lion King, Crash, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Black Panther, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Filmography

Film Year Title Casting director Producer Notes 1998 Paulie 1999 Varsity Blues 200 Cigarettes Double Jeopardy 2000 Mission: Impossible II 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Life as a House Nominated – Artios Award for Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama Crazy/Beautiful Nominated – Artios Award for Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama 2002 The Scorpion King Blue Crush You Stupid Man 2003 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines S.W.A.T. 2004 Miracle Walking Tall A Cinderella Story Crash Won – Artios Award for Best Casting for Feature Film, Drama; Won – Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble 2005 Coach Carter Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School Nominated – Artios Award for Best Independent Feature Film Casting Ice Princess Dreamer 2006 She's the Man The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift The Guardian Home of the Brave 2007 In the Valley of Elah 2008 Quid Pro Quo Vantage Point Never Back Down Iron Man Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio Feature - Drama W. 2009 Hotel for Dogs Race to Witch Mountain Fast & Furious Couples Retreat Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Feature - Comedy 2010 Kick-Ass Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Feature - Studio or Independent Comedy Iron Man 2 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Tron: Legacy 2011 Thor Captain America: The First Avenger Cowboys & Aliens 2012 Safe House The Avengers Seven Psychopaths Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent Feature - Comedy 2013 Iron Man 3 Thor: The Dark World 2014 Chef Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent Feature - Comedy Captain America: The Winter Soldier Godzilla Guardians of the Galaxy Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Feature - Comedy As Above, So Below 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron The Little Prince Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Animation Feature Ant-Man 2016 The Jungle Book Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Animation Feature Captain America: Civil War The Nice Guys Doctor Strange 2017 Kong: Skull Island Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Feature - Comedy Spider-Man: Homecoming Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Won – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent Feature - Drama; Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Casting Thor: Ragnarok 2018 Black Panther Won – Artios Zeitgeist Award Pacific Rim: Uprising Avengers: Infinity War Ant-Man and the Wasp Skyscraper The Predator 2019 Captain Marvel Avengers: Endgame Pokémon: Detective Pikachu Godzilla: King of the Monsters Spider-Man: Far From Home The Lion King Won – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Animation Feature Dora and the Lost City of Gold Mosul 2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Black Widow Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Feature - Comedy Eternals Spider-Man: No Way Home Won – Artios Zeitgeist Award 2022 Everything Everywhere All at Once Won – SAG Award for Outstanding Cast; Won – SAG Award for Best Actress; Won – SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress; Won – SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor; Won – Artios Zeitgeist Award; Won – Hollywood Critics Association for Best Casting Director; Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Casting; Nominated – Black Reel Award for Outstanding Ensemble Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Thor: Love and Thunder The Gray Man Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Big Budget Feature - Drama 2023 One True Loves Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 The Marvels 2024 Deadpool & Wolverine 2025 Captain America: Brave New World The Electric State Thunderbolts* The Fantastic Four: First Steps Play Dirty 2026 The Bluff Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Spider-Man: Brand New Day Wild Horse Nine Avengers: Doomsday 2027 Godzilla x Kong: Supernova Avengers: Secret Wars TBA Ibelin The Kellys

Television Year Title Casting director Producer No. of episodes Notes 2015 Agent Carter 8 episodes 2018 Deadly Class 1 episode 2019–20 Emergence 9 episodes 2013–20 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 100 episodes 2019–23 The Mandalorian 24 episodes Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series; Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Pilot and First Season - Drama; Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Series - Drama 2021 WandaVision 9 episodes Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie; Nominated – Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Limited Series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 6 episodes 2021–23 Loki 12 episodes (as CD), 12 episodes (as consulting producer) What If...? 8 episodes (as CD), 9 episodes (as consulting producer) 2021 Hawkeye 6 episodes 2021–22 The Book of Boba Fett 7 episodes 2022 Moon Knight 6 episodes (as CD), 3 episodes (as consulting producer) The First Lady 5 episodes Ms. Marvel 6 episodes She-Hulk: Attorney at Law 9 episodes Werewolf by Night TV special The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special TV special 2023 Secret Invasion 6 episodes 2023–present Star Wars: Ahsoka 8 episodes 2024 Echo 5 episodes Agatha All Along 9 episodes 2024–25 Star Wars: Skeleton Crew 8 episodes 2025 Ironheart 6 episodes TBA Southern Bastards Pilot