ABOUT

DAMIAN BAO CASTING IS A TOP GLOBAL CREATIVE CASTING STUDIO THAT DOES TRADITIONAL CASTING BY CONSIDERING ACTORS AND MODELS AND SPECIALIZES IN A SEAMLESS HYBRID AUTHENTIC CASTING STYLE THAT COMBINES ACTORS, MODELS, ARTISTS, REAL PEOPLE, AND DYNAMIC STREET FINDS TO CREATE BOLD AND STRIKING VISUAL PROJECTS IN FILM AND ADVERTISING.

METICULOUSLY LED BY UNAPOLOGETIC VISUAL TROUBLEMAKER DAMIAN BAO, OUR WORK IN THE PAST DECADE HAS BRIDGED THE WORLDS OF FILM, MUSIC, ART, DESIGN, AND FASHION WITH AUTHENTIC REPRESENTATION AND RAW TRUTH. WE HELP COLLABORATORS AND CLIENTS WORLDWIDE EVOLVE THE RULES AND BREAK THE GLASS CEILING ON SCREEN AND BEHIND THE SCENES. WE ADVOCATE FOR AUTHENTICITY, INCLUSIVITY, DIVERSITY, AND EMPATHY AND CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY AND UNIQUE VOICES THROUGH STORYTELLING.

DAMIAN BAO (HE/THEY) IS AN AMERICAN VISUAL TROUBLEMAKER, FILMMAKER, PRODUCER, CASTING DIRECTOR, VISUAL ARTIST, STRATEGIST, AND ADVOCATE FOR HUMAN & ANIMALS RIGHTS. 

HIS DISTINGUISHED PORTFOLIO IN THE PAST DECADE BRIDGES THE WORLDS OF FILM, MUSIC, ART, DESIGN, AND FASHION WITH AN UNAPOLOGETIC FIERY DETERMINATION TO FIGHT FOR REAL CHANGE REGARDING WHO GETS TO TELL AND BE THE FACE OF THE STORIES BEING TOLD. 

DAMIAN SHARED HIS EXPERTISE DELIVERING TALKS AT FILM FESTIVALS, SUCH AS: SUNDANCE, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST (SXSW), TRIBECA, AND CANNES, AS WELL AS THE SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION. HE IS A MEMBER OF THE CASTING SOCIETY OF AMERICA (CSA). 

HIS UNIQUE LIFE STORY, AS A MARGINALIZED OUTSIDER BELONGING TO MULTIPLE DISENFRANCHISED GROUPS, ALLOWS HIM TO SPEAK FROM THE HEART WHEN FIGHTING FOR CHANGE. HIS IMPOVERISHED UPBRINGING INSPIRES DAMIAN TO ALWAYS SEEK TO TELL AUTHENTIC STORIES GIVING VOICE TO HUMANS AND SENTIENT BEINGS WHO ARE VOICELESS, UNSEEN, AND DISREGARDED IN THE WORLD.

HIS EARLIEST MEMORIES WERE SPENT IN REFUGEE CAMPS, AS HIS FAMILY LEFT VIETNAM AS BOAT PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS A BABY. LATER IMMIGRATING TO AMERICA, DAMIAN HAD AN UNUSUALLY COLORFUL ADOLESCENCE RUNNING AROUND, AND CAUSING MISCHIEF IN A DIVERSE TRAILER PARK COMMUNITY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF NEW ORLEANS. HE GREW UP LISTENING TO CRAZY, BUT TRUE, STORIES FROM HIS TRANSIENT NEIGHBORS WHO WERE CIRCUS PERFORMERS, OFFSHORE FISHERMEN, DRAG QUEENS, MIDNIGHT BALLERINAS, AND SEEDY FOLKS WITH GOOD HEARTS BUT BAD CIRCUMSTANCES. DAMIAN ENDED UP LIVING OUT A BUNCH OF WILD ADVENTURES TOO. IN SOME WAYS, IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE STARS THAT DAMIAN BAO WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO HELP TELL UNIQUE STORIES AND DISCOVER CHARACTERS.

WHEN HE WAS TRAVELING THE WORLD AS A FASHION AND DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER, DAMIAN STARTED WORKING IN CASTING AND PRODUCTION, AFTER BEING FRUSTRATED BY THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN MAINSTREAM MEDIA. HE WANTED TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE HIRING OF TALENT BOTH IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA. SINCE THEN, HE HAS HELPED CAST HUNDREDS OF DIVERSE CAMPAIGNS AND COMMERCIAL PROJECTS LENSED BY THE WORLD’S TOP PHOTOGRAPHERS AND DIRECTORS FOR THE BIGGEST BRANDS IN THE WORLD AS WELL AS CAST AND PRODUCED FEATURE FILMS THAT HAVE PREMIERED AT TOP FILM FESTIVALS, SUCH AS SUNDANCE, SXSW, TRIBECA, NYFF, BERLINALE, AND CANNES.

IN 2021, DAMIAN BAO WAS NOMINATED BY LEYNA BLOOM TO BE LISTED ON THE GOOD MORNING AMERICA INSPIRATION LIST. SHE STATED, “I AM NOMINATING DAMIAN BAO TO HIGHLIGHT HIS LEADERSHIP AND KINDNESS. THROUGH IT ALL, HE HAS FOUGHT TIRELESSLY BOTH PUBLICLY AND BEHIND THE SCENES FOR NOT ONLY ME, BUT SO MANY OTHERS, TO CREATE REAL EQUALITY AND CHANGE. HE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT OTHER GATEKEEPERS IN THE INDUSTRY SHOULD AIM TO BE.” 

DAMIAN’S EXPERIENCES AS A FORMER BUDDHIST MONK AND HUMANITARIAN IN DISADVANTAGED AREAS IN AMERICA, VIETNAM, AND CAMBODIA HAVE EXPOSED HIM TO A BROADER SWATH OF HUMAN SUFFERING AND COMPASSION. HE BELIEVES IN USING EMPATHY TO TELL HUMAN STORIES THAT BRING PEOPLE FROM DIVERGENT POPULATIONS AND POLARIZING SIDES TOGETHER. THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS HAS ALWAYS PUSHED DAMIAN’S FAITH IN HUMANITY UPWARD AND FORWARD. HE IS ALWAYS EXCITED AND ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT COLLABORATIONS THAT CELEBRATE EVERYDAY HEROES.

DAMIAN STARTED HIS FILM CASTING CAREER ON THE CASTING TEAM OF ANDREA ARNOLD’S AMERICAN HONEY (2016 CANNES JURY PRIZE WINNER) AND RYAN GOSLING’S LOST RIVER (2014 CANNES). UNDER DAMIAN BAO CASTING, HIS FEATURE FILM CASTING CREDITS INCLUDE DANIELLE LESSOVITZ’S PORT AUTHORITY (2019 CANNES), WHICH MADE HISTORY AS THE FIRST FILM IN CANNES’ 72-YEAR HISTORY TO FEATURE A TRANS WOMAN OF COLOR (LEYNA BLOOM) IN A LEADING ROLE, AS WELL AS SAM DE JONG’S GOLDIE (2019 BERLINALE), TIFFANY JOHNSON & KIANNA MOORE’S THE BEAUTY OF BLACKNESS (2022 TRIBECA X BEST FEATURE FILM WINNER), MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI’S REMOTE (2022 NYFF), LANA WILSON’S LOOK INTO MY EYES (2024 SUNDANCE), SAM & ANDY ZUCHERO’S LOVE ME (2024 SUNDANCE ALFRED P. SLOAN FEATURE FILM PRIZE WINNER), JING AI NG’S FORGE (2025 SXSW), AND IRA SACHS’S THE MAN I LOVE (2026 CANNES).

HE HAS CAST THE ALBUM VISUALS AND MUSIC PROJECTS FOR ARTISTS, SUCH AS BEYONCÉ, NAS, COLDPLAY, FKA TWIGS, A$AP ROCKY, CHARLI XCX, BILLIE EILISH, PRINCESS NOKIA, FATHER JOHN MISTY, LUDACRIS, FLO MILLI, SUPER JUNIOR, SEVENTEEN, BTS J-HOPE, SAM SMITH, AND CHAPPELL ROAN. HIS CASTING WORKS HAVE ALSO BEEN EXHIBITED AT TOP INSTITUTES, SUCH AS MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MOMA), TATE MODERN, MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (MOCA), MUSÉE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN DE MONTRÉAL (MAC), MODERNA MUSEET, X MUSEUM BEIJING, ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM (ROM), AND NYC’S LINCOLN CENTER.

ADDITIONALLY, DAMIAN PRODUCES THROUGH QILINVERSE, AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION ARM THAT FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING AND BACKING FEATURE FILM PROJECTS LED BY HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED STORYTELLERS. HIS WORK OFTEN CHALLENGES THE RULES AND REDEFINES WHO GETS TO BE SEEN AND HEARD.