Thea McLeod founded McLeod Casting after building a career as one of Australia's most experienced casting directors, and she's currently serving her fourth term as President of the Casting Guild of Australia (CGA). For 14 years, from 2011 until the series wrapped in July 2025, she was the casting director for Neighbours, helping launch the careers of numerous Australian actors who've gone on to work locally and overseas. Beyond Neighbours, Thea's television credits include Better Man (SBS), the telemovie Schapelle (Nine), Underbelly Files: The Man That Got Away (Screentime), City Homicide (Seven) and Whatever Happened to That Guy (Foxtel), plus several UK-Australia co-productions for Channel 5 UK and Network 10, including Lie With Me, Riptide, Heat and the upcoming Imposter. Her feature film work spans Pawno, the Netflix Original Measure for Measure, Spin Out, Emo the Musical, Summer Coda and the US feature A. Rimbaud. McLeod Casting is based in a dedicated studio on Montague Street, technically just across the boundary in Albert Park rather than South Melbourne proper, though the two suburbs sit side by side. Casting Associate Georgia Rickards, who joined the studio in 2018, works alongside Thea on extras casting and production support. The company also runs a Queensland casting studio in Ashmore and periodically hosts casting workshops for actors through partner organisations.