Smosh taps longtime casting director Lesley Wolff to lead on-air talent

Smosh has hired longtime casting exec Lesley Wolff as its first director of on-air talent.

Wolff operates her own digital-focused casting company, Wolff Casting, and has worked in television and film for more than 20 years. She served as a casting director for numerous major networks including E!, Spike TV, HBO, and Comedy Central, was casting director for now-defunct Defy Media, and ran casting for all of Condé Nast’s digital programming.

Recently, Wolff was responsible for casting guest comedy performers for A Little Late with Lilly Singh, and casting discovery+’s upcoming Book of Queer.

At Smosh, Wolff will oversee the YouTube comedy group’s current cast, including Smosh co-founder and president Ian Hecox, Shayne Topp, Courtney Miller, Damien Haas, Jacklyn Uweh, Kimmy Jimenez, Keith Leak Jr., Noah Grossman, and Olivia Sui.

She will also “spearhead casting efforts such as sourcing, scouting and identifying new potential talent, as well as forging relationships with a multitude of creators in the entire digital landscape,” per a Smosh representative.

Wolff will report directly to Hecox.

“We’re excited to have Lesley join the Smosh team and help us develop the current Smosh cast while also identifying new talent,” Hecox said in a statement. “Smosh is a constantly-evolving creative space for the funniest people on the internet, and I want this to continue to be a place where up-and-coming comedians and creators aspire to be. Lesley is a pro with the experience and passion to do just that.”

“There is nothing more exciting and rewarding than finding and developing emerging talent and then watching them grow and expand,” Wolff said in her own statement.

Smosh was founded in 2006 by Hecox and Anthony Padilla. It currently has more than 46 million subscribers across four channels, including its recently relaunched Spanish-language channel El Smosh.