Charlie Brooker On Technology Developments, AI, And Why “Black Mirror” Still Mixes New Talent With Big Stars

Back when the show first launched in 2011, we used to see a lot of new faces, brand new actors were being brought to the screen; fast forward to now, we’re getting a lot of household names. Now, when you’re writing episodes or start casting, do you already have names in mind, or are you still casting like you were originally?

Charlie: Sometimes it’s a mix. I mean, honestly, when you’re writing, you kind of cast people in your head because it helps you to write. They often aren’t the person, but sometimes, occasionally, they have been the person who’s actually in the episode. 

I think we’ve got a real mix because we’ve got some really big stars this season, and they’re there because they’re fucking great actors, but we’ve also got some people who are possibly less well known, who are emerging talents. I think that’s also a very important bit to the show’s DNA that I think sometimes gets somewhat overlooked. I hear people saying, “Oh, it’s all celebrities now” well no, fuck off, no it isn’t. We’ve got loads of actors that people aren’t aware of yet, but will be tomorrow. 

I think there’s a good mix!

Charlie: I think there’s a good mix. I’m glad you’ve said that. I got defensive and angry about it for no reason.

I’ll back you in the comments! It’s a fantastic mix and Black Mirror has always done quite well to bring out great new talent that you end up seeing on screen for years after; it’s an attribute to the show. However, bringing in the big names sometimes matches the themes, like in Hotel Reverie, it makes sense to have big names like Emma Corrin because of what it represents.

Jessica: Well, thank you !

Charlie: Thank you for that!