Casting Director Dmytro Onyshchenko

– Since 2010. I came from the modeling business: I worked as a model, and then I was offered a job at an agency as a scout. I started selecting models – realized it wasn’t the kind of agency I wanted to work for and quit. Then a vacancy opened up at STB channel. Mainly, these were reality shows, studio formats, talent shows. My first project was “So You Think You Can Dance.” After that, I worked at almost every media holding in Ukraine, except “Ukraina.”

– Right now, I feel most connected to a project that aired on Novyi Kanal – the “Pedan-Prytula Show.” It was one of the few late-night shows in Ukraine. I really like this format, and besides, it was fun: the team means a lot. This is the kind of TV project I’d love to work on again. Sadly, it no longer exists. In general, every project is special in its own way. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.

– On 1+1, I worked exclusively on series. You know how when a director or screenwriter doesn’t want to have their name in the credits, they use “Alan Smithee”? Well, I’m one of those “Alans Smithee.”

– The last one I worked on. It hasn’t been released yet, so I can’t name it.

Of course, I’m being a bit ironic about being “ashamed.” For example, back in 2012, while working with 1+1, I worked on “Family Melodramas” and a comedy series called “Bardak.” It was a great experience and intense work: lots of actors, full auditions with the director.

When I moved to Novyi Kanal and later transitioned to StarLightMedia, I mainly worked on non-actor projects. The actor work was limited to promos or commercials. Currently, I’m working on several studio projects for STB where we select real-life heroes. I have a team that makes the impossible happen, so all the credit goes to them.

We did the first season of the talk show “What Women Keep Silent About” with Oksana Bayrak. It was a challenging search for guests. We had just come out of quarantine and had to cast 12 episodes in a very short time. The pressure was constant – everyone knew that without heroes, there would be no show. But my girls pulled it off. There were times I thought: “That’s it… Tomorrow’s shoot will be canceled because we don’t have a guest.” Half an hour later – we had three! I’m also really grateful to the project team – everyone worked in sync toward a common goal, and that’s why it all worked out.

– I love them all. The teams we work with make high-quality and visually stunning ads. One recent fun challenge was finding an actress who looked like Gamora from “Guardians of the Galaxy” for the “Rising Spring on Novyi” promo. The final result is already on air. I loved how it turned out – really cool! Of course, the makeup artists and stylists did a fantastic job creating the look.

In the last five years, I’ve barely been involved in direct communication and selection of actors and heroes – maybe 10% of my time. The rest is planning, task management, budgeting, etc.

– I do. But nowadays, with social media, databases are becoming less relevant. When people ask me: “Dima, do you have a database?” I reply, “Yes – Facebook.” Communication is much faster there than going through a traditional casting database. There are so many communities now – you post one sentence, and suddenly you have 500 emails. That’s what happened on my last project. Two weeks later, when I started getting back to people, they didn’t even remember what they had applied for.

– – Missing or forgetting something. I double- and triple-check everything. And still, sometimes I forget.

– At one point I wanted to be a firefighter. My dad is a doctor, and we talked about me going into medicine. Eventually, I got a degree as a mechanical engineer specializing in metal-cutting machines – I studied at KPI. It took me a long time – almost as long as it takes to become a neurosurgeon. I took academic breaks, and finished the last years part-time while already working. When I started at STB, I still had three years left to finish my degree. So things didn’t quite go as planned.

– I have another project – an improv show called “Grai,” which has been running for almost two years. We performed actively before the pandemic and managed a few shows afterward. Now we’ve already booked dates for the coming months, so I’ll be announcing them soon.

I also act and appear in small roles in commercials and TV shows like “Real Mysticism” and “Agents of Justice.” I know my level of acting, so I always evaluate whether I fit the role. I watch the final product with excitement every time.

I snowboard, listen to music – mostly rock and electronic. I’ve performed stand-up, and my friends and I are preparing a YouTube project. Sometimes I feel like I take on too much. I think, “Can we add an eighth day to the week? That would solve everything.”

- There are a lot of films I liked. I’m a fan of young Bruce Willis – I used to watch the series “Moonlighting” as a kid. He has many great, underrated films like “The Last Boy Scout.” At some point though, his career took a turn for the worse. I also enjoy comic book movies – they’re a fun ride. I love Christopher Nolan’s work. There are lots of amazing series these days. Among Ukrainian ones, I liked “And There Will Be People.” Also, “Catch the Kaidash” and “The First Swallows” – I’m proud Ukraine is producing such projects.

– Yes, but I don’t know when to do it. I used to read during public transport rides. Since I started driving, I’ve switched to audiobooks. One I really enjoyed was “A Clockwork Orange.” The audiobook was done well – in a consistent style, with music, and great voice acting that captured the characters. I also listened to Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm.” I loved “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. But I couldn’t get into her second novel – it was about architecture, too narrow a topic.

– I want to launch my own comedy project on YouTube. A few years ago, we tried to start something like that. We shot a few pilot videos but didn’t have the guts to publish them. Two years later, we’re back at it – we’ve done some test filming. No title or channel yet – just a few working ideas. It’s a conversational, humorous format.

– Yes, I do the cooking in our family. I don’t have a signature dish – everything turns out well. But I’ll never say no to my grandmother’s varenyky – she makes them in a special way.

– I’d advise them to never stop learning and growing! Gain new skills and keep improving the old ones. That advice goes not just for actors – it’s for everyone.