Adults can learn from children as well as vice versa, a message that’s clear in Haley Joel Osment’s new film “Sex Ed,” even in its casting process. Director Isaac Feder balances humor, drama, and a positive message in the comedy about virgin Ed Cole, who ends up teaching a class of middle schoolers sex education. And casting directors Danielle Aufiero and Amber Horn assembled a cast that brings to life the awkwardly funny situations both in and out of the classroom.
One aspect of casting that has always appealed to Horn is the smaller roles. Of her first job, Horn says, “I remember being so excited to be able to get to cast the co-star roles in television.” Aufiero agrees that the small roles make the story believable. So although they could have delegated casting the local roles, they went to Tampa themselves and cast about half of the child roles locally. “We really believed in Isaac and in this movie, and we didn’t want to put it in anyone else’s hands,” Aufiero says.
Feder wanted the actors to actually be the age of the characters. “He wanted the kids to look real; he didn’t want, like, polished TV kids,” Aufiero says. To play the pivotal role of
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