"Little House on the Prairie" Casting Director Breaks Down the Unique Way Michael Landon Added New Characters to the Show Victoria EdelAugust 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty The cast of 'Little House on the Prairie.
- - "Little House on the Prairie" Casting Director Breaks Down the Unique Way Michael Landon Added New Characters to the Show
Victoria EdelAugust 27, 2025 at 2:00 AM
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
The cast of 'Little House on the Prairie.' Clockwise from left: Melissa Sue Anderson, Lindsay/Sidney Greenbush, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle and Melissa Gilbert -
Little House on the Prairie casting director Susan McCray opened up about working on the show with star Michael Landon in a new interview
McCray revealed that her collaboration with Landon was totally unique from how casting is usually done
McCray said the series was "a beautiful family show" that would make her "cry every single time"
How did Little House on the Prairie assemble such a large, beloved cast?
The show's cast director, Susan McCray, revealed in a new interview that the show's producer and star, Michael Landon, had a unique method for adding new ensemble players. Speaking to Buzzfeed in a conversation published on Tuesday, Aug. 5, McCray explained, "When I worked on casting for other shows, I always got a description of a part. Mike Landon didn't write any descriptions; I would only get a script."
That enabled McCray to use all her skills to cast the series and to cast the widest net possible. "It really gave me the opportunity to use a creative sense, like when you read a book and you envision what that character is going to look like," she explained.
She added, "I was really grateful for it, because it gave me a chance to hire and find actors who didn't already have a lot of experience. I went to a lot of theaters and showcases, and I was able to give many actors an opportunity that the networks wouldn't usually give."
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The cast of 'Little House on the Prairie.'
McCray said that the network "loved" Landon, who died in 1991 at age 54, and so "he got whatever he wanted."
"I was so lucky, because he would say, 'If Susan wants them, that's the way it's going to be,' " she said. "I was very fortunate. I would bring in about five different people, and they would read. Then I would bring back the ones that I thought were right for the director, which, in most cases, was Michael."
More specifically, McCray had "two ways" of casting a role. "When I saw a part, I could do what they call 'on the nose casting,' which is exactly what you envision, or 'offbeat,' which is completely different from what you originally expected, but when you see it, you say, 'Wow, I never thought of it that way,' " she said.
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The Cast of 'Little House on the Prairie'
Little House — which starred Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls, Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls Kendall and Landon as Charles Ingalls — ran from 1974 to 1983 on NBC. The on-screen version of Walnut Grove ultimately had dozens of residents — and even featured guest stars, like Johnny Cash, and young actors, like Jason Bateman and Shannen Doherty, when they were getting their start as child stars.
McCray said she thought of Little House as a "beautiful family show" that seemed "the right thing" for the moment. "I do remember Michael saying to me, 'Susan, I think this is going to be something special,' " she remembered.
She said the show "brought to life a little bit more vividly" some of the things the real Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about in her book series, which was based on her life.
McCray joked that she told Landon to "buy Kleenex stock because whenever I looked at an episode, or I read actors for a part, I would cry every single time." She explained, "It was not because of the words; it was because of the feeling I would get when I would see the show. It just felt so good to me."
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