Joel Thurm

Joel Thurm is a legendary and highly influential Hollywood casting director whose instincts, wit, and fearless advocacy for actors have helped shape decades of television and film history.

Born and raised on one of the last remaining dairy farms in Brooklyn, New York, Thurm grew up surrounded by cows, Broadway cast albums, and a growing love for movies. He graduated from Hunter College, majoring in theater and psychology, and briefly worked as a substitute teacher—an experience he famously describes as becoming “the worst substitute teacher in modern times.” Unable to follow rigid lesson plans, he brought art supplies into the classroom and immersed his students in creative projects, an early sign of the unconventional thinking that would define his career.

Thurm’s path into show business began in theater, including working for legendary Broadway producer David Merrick, where he learned the business from the ground up and developed a sharp eye for talent. His career soon expanded into casting, eventually leading him to Hollywood, where he became one of the most respected and powerful figures in the industry. His film credits include three iconic classics: Grease, Airplane!, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Early in his career, Thurm recognized that John Travolta was far more than a teen idol, casting him in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble and helping set the stage for his meteoric rise.

From 1980 to 1990, Thurm served as Senior Vice President of Talent and Casting for NBC, following earlier work with Paramount Television. During this time, he played a pivotal role in discovering the Phoenix family, meeting River and Joaquin Phoenix when they were children and helping guide them on their path to becoming A-list movie stars. He oversaw casting for many of the most iconic television series of the 1970s and 1980s, including Cheers, Taxi, The Golden Girls, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, Knight Rider, The Cosby Show, and Hill Street Blues, among countless others.

Known for his sharp instincts, irreverent humor, and deep respect for actors, Thurm has long been a champion of casting against type and bringing authenticity and diversity to television. He later chronicled his remarkable career in his candid memoir, Sex, Drugs & Pilot Season: Confessions of a Casting Director, offering an unfiltered backstage pass to the boardrooms of Manhattan and the executive suites of Hollywood—where show-business history was made.