Barcelona has a casting market with a character all of its own. More open to European and international projects than Madrid, with a strong presence of the advertising sector and with the Catalan language as a key differentiating factor, the Barcelona market offers specific opportunities that actors working in the city need to know well.
The Casting Market in Barcelona: Differences from Madrid
The first fundamental difference is volume. Madrid has more television production in raw terms; Barcelona has greater format diversity and a higher proportion of international and high-budget advertising projects. In Barcelona, casting for advertising represents a very significant share of local casting directors' work, whereas in Madrid, television fiction dominates.
The second difference is language. Casting in Barcelona is frequently bilingual, and some projects — especially those for TV3 and Catalan production companies — are exclusively in Catalan. Actors who only work in Spanish have access to a reduced part of the local market.
Main Agencies and Casting Directors in Barcelona
Advertising and Image Casting
Barcelona is home to some of the most active casting agencies for advertising in the country. These agencies work for national and international advertisers who choose the city for its creative and cosmopolitan profile. Their castings seek very varied profiles: from people with an editorial look for fashion campaigns to actors with comedic ability for television commercials. The renewal of databases is constant.
Casting for Fiction and Streaming Platforms
Casting directors specialising in fiction in Barcelona work regularly with TV3, with Catalan fiction production companies and with European co-productions. Some of the most active names in this segment run their own casting companies and manage projects of very different natures, from television series to independent feature films.
Casting for Theatre
Theatre casting in Barcelona operates in a more artisanal way. Directors tend to work with actors they already know or have seen in productions. Auditions for theatre are less frequent and more informal than in the audiovisual sector.
Tip: In Barcelona, many casting agencies accept applications from new actors on a regular basis. Prepare a portfolio with recent photographs (book), an up-to-date acting CV and a link to your showreel. Send it proactively, without waiting for an open call to be announced.
Types of Projects Cast in Barcelona
The diversity of the Barcelona market is reflected in the types of projects that are cast regularly:
- National and international advertising: Barcelona is home to many of Spain's finest creative agencies, which generates a constant flow of high-level advertising productions.
- Series for TV3 and streaming platforms: The production of fiction in Catalan is an exclusive segment of the Barcelona market, with regular calls for actors who are fluent in the language.
- Art-house cinema and European co-productions: Barcelona attracts independent directors from across Europe to shoot their projects, generating castings with very specific profiles.
- Digital content and branded content: The growth of content for digital platforms has created new demand for actors in short formats, web series and brand content.
How to Submit Your Application to Barcelona Agencies
The process of approaching a casting agency in Barcelona follows similar patterns to the rest of the industry, but with some particular features:
- Research before you send: Each agency has a different profile. Some specialise in advertising, others in fiction, others are generalists. Tailor your submission to what each one does.
- Mind the presentation: A well-written email, free of errors and with attachments of a reasonable size. If you can personalise the message with a reference to one of the agency's projects, do so.
- Include your languages: In Barcelona, explicitly mentioning your level of Catalan, English and any other language is especially relevant.
- Update periodically: Agency databases are constantly refreshed. If it has been more than a year since you last submitted your materials, resend them with any updates.
The Role of TV3 and Catalan Productions
The Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA), which includes TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio, is the largest employer of Catalan-speaking actors in Spain. Its series and in-house productions generate constant demand for actors who require full command of Catalan. For actors who work regularly in the Barcelona market, appearing in a TV3 production is an important credit to have on a CV.
Market reality: The Barcelona casting market is smaller in volume than the Madrid one, but it is large enough to sustain an acting career. Many Catalan actors work exclusively in Barcelona and have solid, well-regarded careers.
Casting for the Catalan Market vs the Spanish Market at Large
Working in the Catalan market does not preclude working in the broader Spanish market. In fact, many actors based in Barcelona work regularly on Madrid-based projects, and vice versa. The key is to have representation in both cities and to maintain an up-to-date profile that is accessible to casting directors across Spain.
The language barrier only operates in one direction: actors who do not speak Catalan have limited access to the specifically Catalan market. But bilingual Catalan actors have access to the Catalan market plus the broader Spanish one, which in practice gives them an advantage over monolingual actors in either language.
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