K Callan Thought She was ‘In and Out’ of the Widow’s Bay Script, According to Casting Directors

Widow’s Bay casting directors, Allison Jones and Emily Buntyn, discuss finding breakout Kate O’Flynn, Zoom coughing fits, and who didn’t have to read for the part. 

As casting directors, Allison Jones and Emily Buntyn got to learn all the secrets behind Widow’s Bay ahead of everyone else, receiving all the scripts — except for the finale. 

“[Showrunner] Katie (Dippold) has it all in her head, probably out to five seasons, I’m guessing,” said Jones, a veteran of the industry dating back to The Golden Girls. “Maybe two. But it was delightful.”

“The scripts were there from the get-go,” echoed Buntyn, “which isn’t always the case. And so we were pretty excited.”

These Widow’s Bay Emmy-nominated casting directors stacked the cast with a notable who’s who of your favorite character actors, including Dale Dickey, Stephen Root, Jeff Hiller, and K Callan. 

“That is my motto in casting anyway,” said Jones. “First of all, cast talented, really good actors who have nothing to do with what they used to call a Q score on IMDb. I think casting is the only one that has pure motivations in making a movie or a television show. It had to be people like K Callan and Dale Dickey or Stephen Root. My father’s relatives were all from the coast of Maine, and for an island off the coast of Maine, it had to be people like that. And if they have a couple of, excuse my expression, old broads written to a script, I can’t wait. Because then you’re getting these women who can still act the heck out of something.”

Having connected on The Golden Girls back in the ‘80s, Callan told Jones in an email that she loved being involved in Widow’s Bay, even though she had a feeling she was going to be in and out of the script. 

“I said, ‘K, I don’t think you’re just in and out of the script,” said Jones. “You just wait.’”

Buntyn believes the cast lends itself to the believability of the island. 

“When someone is too recognizable, it can sometimes take you out of what you’re watching,” said Buntyn. “And I think that’s what’s really great about this cast is they just felt like real people of this island. And you were just kind of tuned into them. And I think Katie mentioned once or twice, this should or could be like a documentary.”

Finding Widow’s Bay Breakout Star: Kate O’Flynn

Both Jones and Buntyn said the moment they saw O’Flynn’s tape, they knew she was good (“Elaine May,” as Jones described). But Buntyn said reading with her was on a different level. 

“And a lot of times if a scene is very funny or whatnot, I’ll break, and the actors will keep going, and I have to compose myself,” said Buntyn. “But Kate and I, she kept making me laugh, and I kept making her laugh, and we just could not start the scene. And it took about five or six times. And it was the scene with the shaman of Episode 105.”

“Apple did not interfere very much in the casting process,” said Jones. “That was a gift also.”

 Apple was even open-minded about the leading man: Matthew Rhys’s Tom Loftis.

“I don’t think anybody really knew [how funny he was], honest to God,” said Jones. “We were stunned. Not that he couldn’t do it, but what he got out of those moments, and he was so anxious to do it. He liked it so much. Not too many actors passed on it. The writing was too good.”

The one that didn’t read for the part was Stephen Root. Jones described him as a “no-brainer” and one of the “best character actors.”

They went through a lot of female actors for Rosemary, played by Dale Dickey, but hit some snags when it came to capturing her coughing fits. 

 “Zoom will take out background noise,” said Buntyn. “For people having to cough in that scene, I was like, ‘I’m so sorry. You’re going to have to do it again.’”

For the guest roles that went to Hamish Linklater and Betty Gilpin (both Emmy nominees), Jones and Buntyn considered the time period and what they would have sounded like in 1702. They decided to stick with American actors. 

“And then Katie always wanted Betty Gilpin, and I always wanted Hamish,” said Jones.

Linklater also read for Tom Loftis, as did guest star Chris Fleming.

‘Everybody loved [Chris],” said Jones. “And when that part came up, it was just like, ‘Can we hire Chris Fleming?’ And yes, yes, yes.”

Lingering Questions for Widow’s Bay Season 2

In addition to being casting directors, Jones and Buntyn are also diehard fans of the show (apparently, there might be two alternate endings to the finale!). 

Jones wants to know why Fleming’s character knew those black mushrooms only grew on the island if he was born on the island. She also wants to know why Neil Casey’s innkeeper wouldn’t go into that hotel room and why time was different for him there. And what will become of Kevin Carroll’s sheriff, whose wife is due to give birth any minute on the island?

““I haven’t been this excited about a show literally since I did Freaks and Geeks,” said Jones. “Like every detail on Freaks and Geeks, I was obsessed with.”

All episodes of Widow’s Bay are streaming on Apple TV.