Tom Cruise. Meryl Streep. Robert DeNiro. Jennifer Lawrence. To most people, they’re stars seen only on the big screen. To Mitchell Cassel ’77, they’re clients he’s helped prepare for some of cinema’s most memorable roles.
A Vision for Helping Others
Cassel’s path to becoming one of the country’s leading experts in custom contact lenses began with his own vision challenges. He needed glasses at an early age, and the experience was life-changing.
As he grew older, however, he came to appreciate that access to vision care is a privilege not everyone has. The realization sparked a deep empathy for people living with vision impairments and inspired him to pursue a career helping others see more clearly.
After graduating from Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Cassel was introduced to the industry landscape in New York City through Bruce Tapper ’50, father of his lifelong friend Cynthia (Tapper) Fabrikant ’79. Bruce became an important mentor, helping Cassel enter the profession and connecting him with an optometry practice where he worked as an associate for two years.
Lights, Camera, Contacts
Not long after opening his own practice, Cassel encountered an unexpected opportunity. One of his first patients wanted blue contact lenses for an independent film production.
Intrigued by the request, Cassel sought out Dr. Morton Greenspoon in Los Angeles — a second-generation optometrist whose father worked on the 1939 film Miracles for Sale, the first movie to feature an actor wearing colored contact lenses.
Cassel traveled to California to learn from Greenspoon and soon found himself assisting on the set of Fatal Attraction.
He realized the same techniques used in film could also help people living with eye disfigurements caused by injury, illness, or congenital conditions.
Today, Cassel and his practice, Studio Optix, are recognized as national leaders in custom color and prosthetic contact lenses.
“Every time we work with a prosthetic patient, it’s emotional,” says Cassel. “When you change someone’s life, it’s really touching.”
A Legacy of Intention
Recently, Cassel helped prepare Timothée Chalamet for his role in the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme.
Chalamet wanted to intentionally blur his eyesight to accurately portray the professional table tennis player who inspired the character. Cassel and his team created custom contact lenses to simulate the effect and paired them with prescription glasses that gave Chalamet the narrowed, highly myopic appearance needed for the role.
Yet Cassel’s ambitions extend far beyond Hollywood and prosthetic eye care. He hopes to pioneer a process for 3D-printing contact lenses, making them more natural-looking, faster to produce, and more affordable for patients.
“I would love my legacy to be changing the industry,” he says.
