Ethan Petersen
- Casting Director
- Casting Department
- Producer
An Emmy®-winning casting director and firebrand, Ethan Petersen has reshaped the unscripted television landscape by discovering talent that audiences come to love, hate, or appreciate, but always want to watch. He is best known for his work in television and has been nominated for six Emmys® and three CSA Artios Awards for his work as the Head of Casting on RuPaul's Drag Race. In 2020, he received his first Emmy®.
In 2021 he launched Formation: Petersen Entertainment Group, which continues Petersen's world-class casting work. Formation will also develop new shows, expand into other media and live events, and be a progressive media think tank powered by his passion and drive.
Petersen has been a production and casting insider for more than two decades. In the early 2000s, he worked on the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency as head of casting and, later, as a supervising producer. In 2010, energized and impassioned by fast growth of unscripted television and a corresponding need for original, eccentric, and charismatic talent, Petersen co-founded The Casting Firm.
Career highlights include the landmark "Same Love" mass wedding (with Madonna, Macklemore, & Queen Latifah) at the Grammys and his Emmy®-winning casting work on RuPaul's Drag Race.
Petersen's casting credits include Say I Do on Netflix, Bravo's Million Dollar Listing franchise, RuPaul's Drag Race, the Grammy Awards, Let's Make a Deal, Real Housewives, MasterChef, American Idol: Idol Gives Back, Hell's Kitchen, Swamp People, and The Joker's Wild with Snoop Dogg just to name a few. He is also credited booking global iconic talent such as Lady Gaga and Fergie.
Ask him to tell you his professional secrets, and he'll tell you to watch and see. But Petersen will give you one secret to his success. He is passionate about listening and hearing other people's stories. Those stories fire his imagination, and he is the rare media professional who cares as much about the experiences of the talents as he does about the audience reactions.
As an advocate for progressive change Ethan is committed to stories of diversity on all levels. He finds joy in serving LGBTQ+ youth and volunteers his time to The Trevor Project and the Lifeworks mentorship program at the Los Angeles LGBT center.
In 2021 he launched Formation: Petersen Entertainment Group, which continues Petersen's world-class casting work. Formation will also develop new shows, expand into other media and live events, and be a progressive media think tank powered by his passion and drive.
Petersen has been a production and casting insider for more than two decades. In the early 2000s, he worked on the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency as head of casting and, later, as a supervising producer. In 2010, energized and impassioned by fast growth of unscripted television and a corresponding need for original, eccentric, and charismatic talent, Petersen co-founded The Casting Firm.
Career highlights include the landmark "Same Love" mass wedding (with Madonna, Macklemore, & Queen Latifah) at the Grammys and his Emmy®-winning casting work on RuPaul's Drag Race.
Petersen's casting credits include Say I Do on Netflix, Bravo's Million Dollar Listing franchise, RuPaul's Drag Race, the Grammy Awards, Let's Make a Deal, Real Housewives, MasterChef, American Idol: Idol Gives Back, Hell's Kitchen, Swamp People, and The Joker's Wild with Snoop Dogg just to name a few. He is also credited booking global iconic talent such as Lady Gaga and Fergie.
Ask him to tell you his professional secrets, and he'll tell you to watch and see. But Petersen will give you one secret to his success. He is passionate about listening and hearing other people's stories. Those stories fire his imagination, and he is the rare media professional who cares as much about the experiences of the talents as he does about the audience reactions.
As an advocate for progressive change Ethan is committed to stories of diversity on all levels. He finds joy in serving LGBTQ+ youth and volunteers his time to The Trevor Project and the Lifeworks mentorship program at the Los Angeles LGBT center.
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