Why the new Best Casting Oscar is a win for unsung heroes across the workforce

Think of your favorite movie. Maybe you love it for the plot, or the nostalgia you get from watching it again and again. Now think of that same movie, but all the actors have been shuffled: An American who can’t quite master a British accent, a 35-year-old playing a high schooler, a dramatic actor whose jokes fall flat.

The people who make sure that doesn’t happen often go unrecognized, but now the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has something to say about it. The inaugural...