Screenwriting 101: Nick Hornby
“I absolutely love writing minor characters. One thing that I think I’ve realized is that minor characters are where it’s at in terms of lifting the quality of a film. You have to take care of your leads, but if people love minor characters, you’re on a different plateau. Then it feels like the movie is being made with love and care.
For a start — and this is a huge thing — if you’ve written a proper part for a minor character, you’re going to get an actor of an altogether different magnitude to do it… Independent filmmakers especially talk all the time about “casting up” because you need all the help you can get, and the best way to cast up is to make sure that the minor characters are interesting, funny, different, and memorable. Then if you want to send the script to a really good actor and say, ‘Look, it’s a day or two day’s work, but you get to say this’” then something really great could come out of it.”
— Nick Hornby