Melissa Wulfemeyer-Valenzuela
- Casting Director
- Casting Department
- Additional Crew
Melissa's passion for casting and discovering new talent is undeniable.
No matter the size of the budget or timetable challenges, Melissa
always assembles a strong roster of candidates for each role, large or
small. She maintains solid professional relationships with her
connections at elite talent agencies. Louise Spinner at United Talent
Agency describes Melissa as "dependable, dedicated and delightful."
Melissa has cast several independent films, including Rage, starring
Oscar winner Nicolas Cage and Danny Glover; USS Indianapolis: Men of
Courage, starring Nic Cage, Tom Sizemore, James Remar, Matt Lanter
and Thomas Jane; and The Great Alaskan Race, starring Treat Williams,
Bruce Davison, Henry Thomas, Brad Leland and more.
Melissa not only enjoys casting projects with veteran actors like
Malcolm McDowell and Lou Diamond Phillips, she
relishes in finding diverse new talent. She has "an exceptionally keen
eye for matching talent with the needs of the script," says UTA's Brian
Nossokoff. Melissa believes every film should have a "distinct
bouquet of characters," a philosophy she shared with director Mario
Van Peebles on USSI: Men of Courage. She highly values her
relationships with the production leaders and crew as well as with the
talent and their representatives.
Her career in entertainment began as a talent scout for actors, singers
and models. She parlayed that experience into working as a casting
assistant for the incomparable Stan Lee and documentary king Morgan
Spurlock on Comic-Con IV: A Fan's Hope. In addition to her work as a
casting director for feature films, Melissa also has provided casting
services for 8i, an international virtual reality software development
company.
Melissa grew up in Hawaii and San Diego and now lives in Marina
Del Rey, California. She has two handsome sons, Kona and Niko.