Actors! Hollyoaks audition tips ☝️

Act On This - The TV Actors' Network September 1, 2026 2:37 Auditions

A Hollyoaks director on what wins auditions: worked-on pages, live reactions on the off-lines, and where personality actually ranks.

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6 Things Actors Should Know About Auditioning for a Continuing Drama

Drawn from what is actually said on camera, so you can decide whether to spend the 2:37 watching it.

Bring a marked up script, not a pristine one

A clean, crisp piece of paper signals you have not done anything with the text. Bring pages that are crumpled, highlighted and covered in notes, so it is obvious the script has been in your hand and worked. Even scrunching it slightly on the way in is preferable to handing over something untouched.

The director needs reaction shots to cut to

The camera will not always be on you when you speak. If the scene is emotional, or you are opposite something emotional, the director needs something to cut into to keep the composition moving. An actor who reads well but does not react gives an editor nothing.

Vibe matters, but it comes last

After the text work and the acting, the director wants a sense of your personality: relaxed enough to talk and engage, easygoing, professional, well-mannered, courteous, respectful, a bit of a laugh but not too much. Read the room. This is the final consideration, not the first.

Being quiet on set is fine if the work is strong

If banter is not your thing, it will not cost you the job. The direction given is that a quiet actor who takes themselves off between setups is welcome, as long as they come on set and smash it. On Hollyoaks the day might yield six or seven minutes of footage across 10 to 12 hours on set, so how you spend the downtime is noticed either way.

Acting Craft is built by what casting looks for on an actor website.

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Full transcript (672 words)
What as a director are you looking for that makes them stand out, mate? - First of all, I don't like a clean, crisp piece of paper. If you're bringing in a clean, crisp piece of paper, I'm not that bothered about that cuz it feels like you haven't really done anything with it. - Right. - I like a crumpled bit of thing that's got writing all over it, it's highlighted, that's been in your hand, that you've worked. Even if you have to just give it a little bit of that and give it to me. I don't care. Just make it look like you've been working on that text and that thing's been in your hand and it's noted. Because then it's just like, all right, okay, you're studying, you're doing it, you're working through the text. I also like you to obviously do all the tick boxes stuff. Natural, empowered, focused, all that sort of stuff, you know, the the things that you'd expect, good acting. I also look for what you're doing on the off-lines. And that sometimes can kind of expose a few actors cuz they'll do some really interesting stuff when they're talking, but when they're listening to the reader, they're doing less. And the reason why I'm looking for what you're doing on the off-lines is I'm thinking, well, I'm not always going to be on you when you're speaking. And if it's an emotional part or you're reading opposite an emotional part, I'm like, I need something to cut into for whatever reason, like, you know, to keep the composition moving or to get around something or whatever. And if you're not offering anything on the off-lines, then that might be something that somebody else is doing. might be reading really well, but not reacting very well. Yeah. And acting is reacting. So, I look for that. I go, how are you reacting? And then if you're in the room with me and you can act really well and you're reacting really well and you've worked on your text and stuff, then it's like a vibe. You just need to get a good vibe from you. It's like, am I getting your personality coming across? Are you relaxed enough to just talk to me and engage with me? I'd like to think I'm not difficult to talk to. If anything, I talk too much. But I'd like to think I'm not a difficult person and I try not to have status because I just think that the status in the room is the script for me. We're all working for the text, we're all working for the scene. So, let's all make the scene. And if you can make the scene better, then that's going to make me look better as well. I just need to get a good vibe from you and just go, you're filming less than you know." When we're making Hollyoaks, we might be making six or seven minutes a day, but we're on set 10-12 hours. So, there's a lot of time that you're not filming what you like, you know? And And if you're just easygoing, good fun, professional, well-mannered, courteous, kind, respectful, honest, bit of a laugh, but not too much, you know, all that sort of stuff. Read the room. And if you can read the room and have a nice time and we can have a nice conversation and stuff and I just get a good vibe from you and you can do all of the above. It always comes last for me the vibe. If you're not great at banter and all that kind of stuff, don't worry. If you're ace at the job, I'll be like, "It's all right if you're quiet. If you want to go and take yourself off, go and do your thing. Fine. As long as you are cool with just coming on set and just smashing it, then come on set and smash it. I'm not bothered."