The cast of Macbeth numbered 150 people, but only four were professional actors: Jack Carter, Edna Thomas, Canada Lee and Eric Burroughs.

Juano Hernandez was first cast as Macbeth, but he left the production after just three rehearsals to play the lead in an NBC radio series.
Jack Carter, who played Crown in the original stage production of Porgy, was chosen for the role.
Rose McClendon was to have portrayed Lady Macbeth, but when she became critically ill Edna Thomas inherited the role.
Both Carter and Thomas were light-skinned and wore dark makeup in order to avoid looking different from the rest of the cast.
Thomas played Lady Macbeth as a mother figure to Macbeth.

Carter was a former criminal and an alcoholic, but Welles cast him despite being warned of his habit of disappearing for weeks on binges.
Carter understood the importance of the production to his career and kept his drinking under control during the Harlem run.
Welles expended a great deal of time on helping Carter channel his adrenalin into his performance.
The two men bonded and hit the nightspots of Harlem together after rehearsals.
His behavior became so troublesome during the Broadway run that he was replaced by Maurice Ellis, who had held the role of Macduff.

Canada Lee played Banquo.
Lee met Welles prior to his involvement with the production, at a performance of Stevedore.
The audience had been whipped into a frenzied shouting match, and Lee rescued Welles from being attacked by another audience member wielding a knife.

The role of Hecate, which Welles changed from the witch queen of the original to that of a male Voodoo priest, was played by Eric Burroughs, trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
The New York Times noted that Burroughs' concluding line, "The charm’s wound up!"
at the fall of the closing curtain prompted a 15-minute frenzy of cheering throughout the 1200-seat Lafayette Theatre.

Despite the fact that few professional African-American actors were available and many of the cast members had never acted in Shakespeare before, Welles believed that they showed a better understanding of the rhythm of the iambic pentameter than many professionals.

Welles also hired African drummers and dancers, led by Sierra Leonean drummer and choreographer Asadata Dafora.
 Dancer Abdul Assen, a member of Dafora's Shogola Aloba dance troupe who is credited only as "Abdul" on the program, was widely praised by reviewers in his role as the Witch Doctor.
Dafora and Assen's presentation of voodoo practices and musical accompaniment of the witches' speeches with drumbeats were popular with audiences, critics, and with Welles himself.
The involvement of Assen, Dafora, and diasporic African musical and dance tradition added a powerful feeling of authenticity to the Haitian setting that became part of the folklore surrounding the production.
The cast of Macbeth numbered 150 people, but only four were professional actors: Jack Carter, Edna Thomas, Canada Lee and Eric Burroughs.
Juano Hernandez was first cast as Macbeth, but he left the production after just three rehearsals to play the lead in an NBC radio series. Jack Carter, who played Crown in the original stage production of Porgy, was chosen for the role. Rose McClendon was to have portrayed Lady Macbeth, but when she became critically ill Edna Thomas inherited the role. Both Carter and Thomas were light-skinned and wore dark makeup in order to avoid looking different from the rest of the cast. Thomas played Lady Macbeth as a mother figure to Macbeth.
Carter was a former criminal and an alcoholic, but Welles cast him despite being warned of his habit of disappearing for weeks on binges. Carter understood the importance of the production to his career and kept his drinking under control during the Harlem run. Welles expended a great deal of time on helping Carter channel his adrenalin into his performance. The two men bonded and hit the nightspots of Harlem together after rehearsals. His behavior became so troublesome during the Broadway run that he was replaced by Maurice Ellis, who had held the role of Macduff.
Canada Lee played Banquo. Lee met Welles prior to his involvement with the production, at a performance of Stevedore. The audience had been whipped into a frenzied shouting match, and Lee rescued Welles from being attacked by another audience member wielding a knife.
The role of Hecate, which Welles changed from the witch queen of the original to that of a male Voodoo priest, was played by Eric Burroughs, trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The New York Times noted that Burroughs' concluding line, "The charm’s wound up!" at the fall of the closing curtain prompted a 15-minute frenzy of cheering throughout the 1200-seat Lafayette Theatre.
Despite the fact that few professional African-American actors were available and many of the cast members had never acted in Shakespeare before, Welles believed that they showed a better understanding of the rhythm of the iambic pentameter than many professionals.
Welles also hired African drummers and dancers, led by Sierra Leonean drummer and choreographer Asadata Dafora.  Dancer Abdul Assen, a member of Dafora's Shogola Aloba dance troupe who is credited only as "Abdul" on the program, was widely praised by reviewers in his role as the Witch Doctor. Dafora and Assen's presentation of voodoo practices and musical accompaniment of the witches' speeches with drumbeats were popular with audiences, critics, and with Welles himself. The involvement of Assen, Dafora, and diasporic African musical and dance tradition added a powerful feeling of authenticity to the Haitian setting that became part of the folklore surrounding the production.
Voodoo Macbeth