Cynthia Ellis — Performer / Casting Director / Production Coordinator 

Cynthia started her career as a Musical Theatre Performer. 

While in New York City studying, Cynthia met her mentor Joe Ray – Assistant Director – who hired her on her first Set PA job. She continued to work with Joe Ray, Michael Tadross, Alex Hapsas, and Bill Gerrity on top movies and TV shows coming into NYC to film. She feels very lucky to have learned from the best. In 1987 she got a call asking her to complete the casting on the Alan Parker film “Angel Heart”. She then started her own casting company and began booking her own jobs. She moved to Los Angeles in 1988, where she has helped cast a large number of major movies, TV shows, and pilots, including “Robbery Homicide Division”, “Santa Barbara”, “Michael Hayes” (the David Caruso pilot), and many others. She also worked as Associate Casting Director on Michael Mann's “Heat” with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, and more recently as one of the Casting Directors on the comedy movie “Fat Albert”, working with Bill Cosby. 

She has been a Production Coordinator on two major Universal Studio projects: “Pure Luck” with Danny Glover and Martin Short, and the 1989 TV series “Lassie” working with John Ward. Her other two mentors are Peter Margolis – Assistant Director – and Bonnie Timmermann – Casting Director. She has learned much from them. 

She cherishes the seven years she worked at William Morris Agency, and her fifteen years of working production on major award shows: the Oscars, Emmys, American Music Awards, Image Awards, Soap Opera Awards, Comedy Awards, and specials such as “A Party for Richard”, “Muhammad Ali 50th Birthday Celebration”, “Jackson Family Honors”, and “Chris Reeve’s Special”. One regret is that she did not continue on the course of becoming an Assistant Director—but she is currently working on that goal. 

“Nothing happens until I make it happen.” — Scott Wilson