Allison Jones
Born (1955-07-13) July 13, 1955
Needham, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPomona College
OccupationCasting director
Years active1985–present

Allison Jones (born 1955) is an American casting director who is credited for helping bring together realistic ensemble casts for popular television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000–), Undeclared (2001–2002), Arrested Development (2003–2006), the American version of The Office (2005–2013), United States of Tara (2009–2011), Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), Veep (2012–2019), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021), The Good Place (2016–2020), and What We Do in the Shadows (2019–).

Early life and education

Jones grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. She was the second youngest child in a family with six children.[1]

Jones graduated from Pomona College in 1977, with a degree in visual arts. During her time at Pomona, she cultivated an appreciation for what she called "pure geek existence" as her friends introduced her to Monty Python, The Firesign Theatre, and Saturday Night Live.[2]

Career

Jones has worked as a casting director in the entertainment business since 1982, with her first credited work for the television show being Family Ties and later in 1985, The Golden Girls. In 2015, her work as a casting director included the comedy film Get Hard; the Yahoo! Screen show Other Space,[3] and the Netflix series Master of None.[4]

Jones has cast popular television shows including Freaks and Geeks (for which she won an Emmy), Undeclared, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Veep, What We Do in the Shadows, Our Flag Means Death, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Curb Your Enthusiasm, United States of Tara, Arrested Development (both of which she was also nominated for), and the US version of The Office.[1][5]

She has also cast a number of successful films, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006). Knocked Up (2007); The Dictator (2012),[6] and Booksmart (2019).[7] Jones also received casting credit for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Hot Rod, Superbad (both 2007), Step Brothers (2008), Brüno (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Bridesmaids, Fright Night (both 2011), Ghostbusters (2016), Lady Bird (2017), and Eighth Grade (2018).[8] In 2023, Jones and Lucy Bevan cast Barbie.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Rodrick, Stephen (March 30, 2015). "Allison Jones, Nerd Hunter". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  2. ↑ "In Search of the Perfect Nerd". Pomona College in Claremont, California - Pomona College. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  3. ↑ Rodrick, Stephen (6 April 2015). "The Nerd Hunter - The casting director Allison Jones is reshaping American comedy, one misfit at a time". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Rojas Weiss, Sabrina (2 November 2015). "Aziz Ansari Tackles Racism, Sexism & Taco Trucks In Master Of None". refinery29.com. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Allison Jones at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ Keeley, Pete (5 November 2019). "'21 Jump Street' and 'The Dictator' Get Casting Directors". Backstage. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Allison Jones, Women's Impact Report, 'Variety.com, 30 July 2007
  8. ↑ Erbland, Kate (2020-11-28). "Allison Jones Discovers Unlikely Stars". IndieWire. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  9. ↑ Tinoco, Armando (25 July 2023). "'Barbie' Casting Directors On Why Bowen Yang, Dan Levy & Ben Platt Didn't End Up Playing Kens". Deadline. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
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