Heather Basten is an award-winning, BIFA and Royal Television Society-nominated casting director working across film, television, theatre, including West End and major regional productions, and commercials. She is best known for casting the A24/Showtime series Dreaming Whilst Black, an International Emmy®–nominated production. Heather works across all areas of the company, overseeing projects in film, television and theatre to ensure a cohesive casting vision.

Her screen work includes projects for leading studios and filmmakers, collaborating with directors and producers such as James Watkins, Jada Pinkett Smith, Rob Savage, Luca Guadagnino, and Liesl Tommy. Recent credits include Speak No Evil for Universal/Blumhouse, the Venice winning BBC feature Hoard, and the Universal feature Other Mommy.

The companies theatre work spans some of the UK’s most prestigious stages, including Misery (ATG), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (The Old Vic), Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming (Young Vic) directed by Matthew Dunster, Elektra at the (Duke of York’s Theatre - West End) starring Brie Larson, and Barcelona, directed by Lynette Linton.

Musical theatre credits include Bliss (ATG), A Face in the Crowd (Young Vic), and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (RSC & West End).

Heather is a member of the Casting Directors Guild and the Casting Society of America. She received a Royal Television Society nomination for Best Casting in 2023, followed by BIFA and BBTA nominations in 2024. Her work has also been recognised through honours including Screen International’s Star of Tomorrow, BAFTA Breakthrough, a CSA Artios nomination, and a Casting Directors’ Guild Award win.

She is the founder of In The Room Studios, operating across London.

Heather is represented by Alastair Lindsey-Renton and Emma Bennett at Curtis Brown.

IMDB