In her third year as President of the Casting Guild of Australia (CGA), Thea McLeod is one of Australia’s most prominent casting directors. With a wide breadth of work, ranging from international films to television, Thea has a passion for discovering and nurturing the next generation of A-list actors in Australia and beyond.

Thea worked as a casting director in the UK for eleven years, earning her international experience in film, television, and commercials. After returning to Australia in 2008, Thea opened her casting company McLeod Casting. Measure for Measure (M4M) is a professional highlight of Thea’s, a feature film she both cast and produced. In 2020, M4M earned four nominations at the AACTA Awards. M4M received nominations for Best Lead Actor, as well as Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Moreover, M4M earned Thea an individual nomination at the 2020 Casting Guild of Australia Awards for Best Casting in a Feature Film.

Thea’s work on Neighbours was also recognised at the 2020 CGA Awards when she received a second nomination for Best Casting in a Television Series. Pawno is a feature film Thea cast prior to M4M, which received 18 awards internationally, including the grand jury prize for Best Picture at the Cannes Cinema des Antipodes in 2016.

McLeod Casting's eye for talent was again recognised when Pawno received three nominations at the 2015 AACTA Awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor & Actress. Thea enjoys her thirteenth year as the resident casting director of the iconic Australian TV show Neighbours, which recommenced shooting in April 2023 after a short hiatus. In recent years, Thea has cast UK/Australian co-production TV series for Fremantle and Channel 5 — Riptide, Lie With Me, and Heat. Other television credits include the acclaimed Better Man for the SBS network; the telemovie Schapelle for Channel Nine; and Underbelly Files: The Man That Got Away for Screentime, which was a part of the highly successful crime series; City Homicide for The Seven Network; and Whatever Happened to that Guy for Foxtel.

In 2024, Thea handled the Australian casting for the reboot of iconic UK series The Forsyte Saga, alongside UK Casting Director Susie Parriss, casting Australian actor Joshua Orpin in the lead role of Soames Forsyte. Thea has also cast many successful Australian feature films, including Pawno, Spin Out, Emo The Musical, Summer Coda, Blinder, What if it Works, The Menkoff Method, the Netflix Original Film Measure for Measure, starring Hugo Weaving, and has cast the U.S. feature film Rimbaud in 2024.