When Philadelphia-based queen Sapphira Cristál stepped foot into the Werk Room during the Season 16 premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” it was immediately obvious to viewers at home that the seasoned, confident queen — with her comedy chops, impeccable lipsyncing skills, and ability to serve a flawless look — would be one of the main frontrunners to win. So it was a shock to many viewers that Sapphira — who ultimately came in second place on the season after narrowly losing the finale lipsync to fellow competitor Nymphia Wind — had previously auditioned 11 times across the show’s distinguished herstory. As casting director Goloka Bolte describes it, Sapphira was a queen that has been strongly considered for the program many times, but just narrowly missed the cut.
“She was 100 percent on my radar, I have definitely been a fan,” Bolte said during an IndieWire Consider This panel. “It’s like alchemy, putting together an ensemble cast, and there are a lot of applicants. One of the really incredible results of this show becoming a global phenomenon is we have so many auditions and we kind of want the cast to feel a little bit different every year.
And sometimes somebody is just this far away from being on the show.” “We always want to strike a balance of skills, of backgrounds, we want to be a diverse show, we want to make sure people watching are really seeing themselves represented,” Bolte continued. “Some years, somebody who might have auditione.