"A director is like a jewellery artist, and a casting director simply supplies the stones."
Above are some movies Janet has done casting for however she is most well known for Janet Hirshenson is known for her work on A Beautiful Mind (2001), Jurassic Park(1993) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). Janet Hirshenson grew up not far from the world of show business! Her aunt and uncle, Joel and Macy Patterson ran Patterson casting and grew up auditioning for films, TV shows and commercials! She played several guest stars, and supporting roles throughout her twenties. Janet hated auditions and made the decision she wanted to be on the other side. So she talked to her contacts, and relatives at Patterson casting and they hired her a temporary secretary which soon turned into a permanent position , and worked closely with another employee of Patterson Casting, Jane Jenkins. After 2 years of working at Patterson Casting, they both began as associates of Ray Stark's, Rastar Productions. There they mat Jennifer Shull, a "higher up" at the company. . When Shull moved to head the casting department at Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios in Hollywood, she brought both Janet and Jane with her.
With the closing of Zoetrope studios, Jane and Janet joined forces and formed "The Casting Company", (www.janeandjanet.com) Today, they are established as two of the premier casting directors in the entertainment industry.
Since 1981, Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirshenson have cast over 100 feature films, including the Academy Award winning "A Beautiful Mind" "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" "Something's Gotta Give" " Airforce One" "Jurassic Park" "The American President" "Apollo 13" " The Lost World" "A Few Good Men" "Backdraft" "Misery" "Ghost" "When Harry Met Sally" "Mystic Pizza" "Beetlejuice" "Stand By Me" "Home Alone" "The Outsiders" and more recently "Transformers" "Angels and Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code." Only to name a few!
More a little insight on Janet, her colleagues, her company and her work, see more in this video, below!