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Kimberly Hardin is a renowned casting director with a career spanning over 30 years in the entertainment industry. She has contributed to a diverse range of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films and television projects across various genres, including award-winning art house films, popular streaming series, and Hollywood blockbusters. Her films have collectively grossed billions worldwide. Known for her exceptional talent-spotting ability, Hardin has cast numerous actors in breakthrough roles early in their careers, such as Damson Idris, Mahershala Ali, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Kingsley Ben Adair, Sofia Vergara, Chris Tucker, Jorge Garcia, Gabrielle Union, Meagan Good, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lauren London, Jennifer Connelly, Rachael Harris, Mike Epps, Derek Luke, and Cole Hauser, among others. She has also collaborated with esteemed directors and producers including the late John Singleton, Jason Blum, Antoine Fuqua, Neal Moritz, Tim Story, Craig Brewer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Regina King, Will Packer, Ice Cube, RZA, and Bruna Papandrea.
One of Hardin’s most significant career highlights is her 20-year creative partnership with John Singleton, the groundbreaking, Oscar-winning writer-director-producer who passed away unexpectedly in 2019. Together, they launched and elevated the careers of notable actors such as Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson. Their collaborations include films like "Higher Learning," "Baby Boy," "Four Brothers," "2 Fast 2 Furious," and "Hustle & Flow," which won the Sundance Audience Award in 2006 and earned Terrence Howard an Oscar nomination, as well as "Black Snake Moan," featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, and Michael Raymond-James. Hardin’s final project with Singleton was the acclaimed TV series "Snowfall," starring Damson Idris, whom she discovered and cast in the lead role.
Hardin’s partnership with director and Oscar-winning actress Regina King has also been highly rewarding. She cast King’s feature directorial debut, "One Night in Miami," which received widespread critical acclaim, earning Leslie Odom Jr. an Oscar nomination and Kingsley Ben Adir a BAFTA nomination for Best Rising Star. For her casting work on this film, Hardin was honored with the prestigious Robert Altman Independent Spirit Award, becoming the first Black casting director to receive this accolade. She also earned the Artios Award that same year. Following this, Hardin cast the biopic "Shirley," starring and directed by Regina King, which is based on the life of Shirley Chisholm, the trailblazing political activist and first Black woman to run for U.S. President. The film was released on Netflix.
Hardin has collaborated four times with the successful producing duo Keith and Jess Calder, starting with the box office hit turned cult classic "Blair Witch," directed by Adam Wingard, followed by the indie film "Blindspotting," its streaming series adaptation of the same name, and "Little Monsters," an Australian production featuring Lupita Nyong'o and Josh Gad, produced by Bruna Papandrea.
As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Casting Society of America, Hardin made history as the first casting director to be featured in a documentary screened at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, highlighting the art of casting. She also holds the unique distinction of being the only casting director to conduct major talent searches for the role of Michael Jackson in three different biographical films.
Hardin’s upcoming projects include "One Spoon of Chocolate," written and directed by RZA and starring Shameik Moore, RJ Cyler, and Paris Jackson, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; "Liz Here Now," an inspirational indie film starring Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis Taylor, slated for release in 2026; along with several other independent films.
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