Meet Our Toronto Casting Team
Larissa is a first-generation Canadian whose mother was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and her father in Aberdeen, Scotland. She has been casting for over 20 years, and her resume includes film, television, commercials, audiobooks, animation, and theater. She’s built her career on being committed to inclusion and diversity in the casting process, and has loved discovering many fresh faces in the industry who have launched to great success. She feels humbled to have recently been nominated for two 2025 Canadian Screen Award nominations for Best Achievement In Casting, Fiction for her work on Late Bloomer (Crave), and Davey and Jonesie’s Locker (Prime Video/Hulu).
Presently, she is casting the second season of Hallmark’s Mistletoe Murders, starring Sarah Drew; the second season of The Office Movers (Bell Media); the docuseries Into the Void (Hulu/VICE); the fourth season of Audible’s Mistletoe Murders; and several feature films soon to be announced. Other recently cast projects include BET (Netflix), Popularity Papers (Nickelodeon), Run The Burbs (CBC), Wordsville (Sinking Ship), One More Time (CBC), Don’t Even (Crave/APTN), Old Enough! Canada (TVO), Dino Dex (Prime Video, Amazon Kids+, TVOkids, TFO, Knowledge Network) and upcoming features Nika & Madison (Game Theory) and Youngblood (Photon).
Beyond the film space, Mair and team have been diving into the world of voice and audiobooks. The team cast 4 audiobook series for Amazon’s Audible; Wynonna Earp, Anne Of Green Gables, The Downloaded, and Mistletoe Murders Season 1-3 (with Season 4 on the horizon). She has also recently joined the casting team at SpinMaster to cast their Paw Patrol franchise, as well as titles including Unicorn Academy, Vida the Vet, and a few new series in development. Last year, the team worked on the animated feature Julián with Cartoon Saloon and AirCraft Pictures (who collaborated on The Breadwinner).
She has cast the last seven years of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival (CBC), and also put together the Canadian iteration of the popular international comedy series “LOL: Last One Laughing,” starring comedic icons including Colin Mochrie, Jay Baruchel, Jonathan Lajoie, and Mae Martin; and cast for the documentary “Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe,” which won the 2023 TIFF People’s Choice Award.
Her team also casts many movies each year for networks including Hallmark, Lifetime, Tubi, and Discovery+.
Other credits include features Simulant (Mongrel Media), starring Simu Liu, Sam Worthington, and Jordana Brewster, and Relax, I’m From the Future (Game Theory Films) with Rhys Darby and Gabrielle Graham, as well as the 8-time Dora Award-nominated knockout musical “Rock of Ages” which ran at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre in early 2023. Larissa and her team also cast reboot of the beloved Kids in the Hall series for Amazon; family television series “Odd Squad“, which has won 15 Daytime Emmy awards;’Degrassi: Next Class‘ (seasons 1-4, Netflix) ‘Ghostwriter‘ (series, Apple +), ‘Raising Expectations‘ (series, Family Channel) starring Jason Priestley and Molly Ringwald; ‘Secret Society of Second Born Royals‘ (series, Disney+), ‘Take Note‘ (series, NBC Universal), ‘Overlord and the Underwoods‘ (series, Nickelodeon), Dino Dex (Prime Video, Amazon Kids+, TVOkids, TFO, Knowledge Network), ‘Homeschooled‘ (series, CBC),’Shelved‘ (series, Crave), ‘Summer Memories‘ (animated series, Family Channel), ‘SPIN‘ (feature film, Disney+), ‘TallBoyz‘ (series, CBC); ‘Endlings‘ (series, CBC/Hulu); ; ‘Holly Hobbie‘ (series, Hulu/American Greetings); ‘The CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival‘ (2017-2023); ‘Detention Adventure‘ (series, CBC); ‘Riviera (series, Sky) starring Julia Stiles; ‘From The Vine‘ (feature film, Indiecan) starring Joe Pantoliano and Wendy Crewson; ‘Milton’s Secret‘ (feature film, Momentum Pictures), starring Donald Sutherland; ‘Clara‘ (feature film, CBC/TMN) starring Patrick J. Adams and Troian Bellisario.
Larissa and her team are looking forward to collaborating with you on your next project.
Colleen is the Co-Casting Director at Larissa Mair Casting & Associates. Colleen has been working with Larissa for over 9 years and she has enjoyed every moment.
Alongside Larissa, Colleen is currently casting an adaptation of the feature film “Youngblood”, as well as the feature “Nika and Madison”, and the upcoming second season of “Late Bloomer” on Crave. Her previous Casting Director credits include projects such as: “Julian” (Animated Feature); “One More Time,” S1 (CBC); “The Office Movers,” S1 (CBC); “Popularity Paper,” S1 (YTV); “Shelved,” S1 (CTV); and “Run the Burbs,” S2 & S3 (CBC); “Gangnam Project,” S1 & S2 (CBC/the BBC); “Davey and Jonesie’s Locker,” S1 (Prime Video/Hulu); “Don’t Even,” S1 (Crave/APTN); “Dino Dex” (Prime Video, Amazon Kids+, TVOkids, TFO Knowledge Network); “Wynonna Earp” (Audible); “The Downloaded” (Audible); “Mistletoe Murders” (Audible), and “Mistletoe Murders,” S1 (Hallmark), etc.
Colleen loves casting! She enjoys finding new faces, and finding the best actors to make each project the best they can be. She loves every challenge, and cannot wait to work with you! Colleen is thrilled to be working Larissa Mair who is such an inspiring Casting Director. She is excited to see what the future holds for this amazing Casting House.
With the support of Larissa, Colleen has begun her own casting house to continue to grow as a business women; Colleen Rush Casting & Associates Inc. Feel free to reach out to Colleen to cast for your project; she cannot wait to collaborate and work with you!
Jade Hesson
(She/her)
Casting Associate
Jade is the Casting Assistant at Larissa Mair Casting & Associates. After graduating with an honors B.A. in Stage and Screen from the Queen’s University, Jade first came to work with Larissa as a reader, and camera op. She joined the team full-time back in 2021, during the pandemic, and hasn’t looked back since! Jade loves the vibrancy of the industry, and is excited by each and every project thrown their way. Former Cruise Director of the seven seas, Jade now on home turf, is eager to continue absorbing all the industry has to offer, and learning from the team here at Larissa Mair.
Through her time working with Larissa and Colleen, she has grown a passion for the stories they help bring to life, finding unique voices, and prioritizing representation.
Jade loves working with the casting team at LMC, she has passion for the craft, and is motivated to work on future projects with this impressive team!
Zarrin Darnell-Martin
(She/her)
Casting Assistant
Zarrin has been a passionate member of Larissa’s casting team for the past 4 years. As a working actor, she knows what it takes to make it in the industry. She loves working with talent on and off screen. Zarrin has been acting since she was 12 years old. She is a graduate of Canada’s National Theatre School’s acclaimed Acting program. She began her career acting on stage in award winning shows like Birdland Theatre’s The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and the Shaw Festival’s Harvey and Age of Arousal. More recently Zarrin was in Coal Mine Theatre’s Dora award winning ensemble show Between Riverside and Crazy.
She has been in numerous film and television shows including Academy award winning Spotlight, American Gods (Starz), Burden of Truth (CW/CBC), Baroness Von Sketch Show (CBC), Star Trek: Discovery (CBS), Workin’ Moms (CBC/Netflix), Private Eyes (Global), Rookie Blue (Global/ABC) and Saving Hope (CTV/NBC) to name a few. Look out for her on season two of one of Netflix’s most popular shows Ginny & Georgia.
An avid writer, Zarrin started honing her craft while attending Journalism School at Ryerson University. Her non-fiction work has appeared in the Globe and Mail and her creative non-fiction essay Garlic Pussy was published by The Fiddlehead: Atlantic Canada’s International Literary Journal.
Ema Inês
(She/her)
Casting Assistant
Born in South Africa with Portuguese heritage, Ema’s passion for the arts was ignited at a young age in the theatre. At 16, Ema began acting for film and television which later led to a degree in Film Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. It was here that Ema’s love for film and casting was harnessed.
Ema has produced ‘Bus’, a short film which premiered at the TorontoMet Film Fest in 2024. She also has experience as a writer, director and assistant director, seen through projects shot in London, England, and Toronto. Ema has acted in several televised pieces including Run the Burbs on CBC, A Ghost Ruined My Life on Discovery+, and Holly Hobbie on Family Channel.
Ema’s joy for casting was first sparked while working on a short film in 2023. Since then, Ema’s passion for casting has evolved and she is extremely excited to be a part of the Larissa Mair Casting team where she is surrounded by a group of exceptional mentors.
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