“My whole career, I had an acting teacher tell me when you go into an audition, it’s a crime scene, and the casting director is a detective who’s trying to find who killed them.”
–Jacob Elordi
Jacob Elordi’s recent thoughts on auditioning have gone viral because they cut straight to a fundamental truth about great auditions. So many actors, myself included, have walked into auditions looking for permission, and spend way too much time focused on “being good,” doing it “right,” or trying to give them what “they want.”
Most of which stems from a belief that they have to prove something because they don’t believe what they’re bringing to the table is enough. That’s the trap.
Elordi’s comments hit because they point to the number-one mentality you need to book: the belief that you are the character.
Not that you’re playing them. Not that you’re trying to be them. You are them. If you dig even deeper, the reason that mentality is so magnetic is because underneath it is a quiet certainty that everything you are is not only enough, it’s the entire ballgame.
Key Insights
- The actors who book aren’t suggesting the character, they embody it with complete certainty and conviction.
- Casting responds to specificity and bold choices, not safe, approval-seeking performances.
- The real shift is internal: trusting that what you bring is enough and committing to it fully.
The Crime Scene Mentality
What Jacob Elordi is describing is captured perfectly in one of the best metaphors I’ve ever heard about auditioning: it’s a crime scene, and casting is trying to figure out who did it. So think of yourself as a suspect … who also has great headshots.
While most actors walk in trying to suggest they might be the one, the actor who books is the one who leaves no shadow of doubt.
And that usually means instead of giving a version of the performance that feels careful, controlled and just slightly held back, they fully immerse themselves in the character. This is done through preparation, embodiment and certainty.
Some of the best audition tapes: Aaron Paul for Breaking Bad, Rachel McAdams for The Notebook and Stephanie Hsu for Everything Everywhere All at Once, weren’t technically perfect. In fact, they stumbled, forgot lines and had rough edges.
But when you watch those tapes, one thing is undeniable: they are the character. They committed the crime.
Kicking the Door Down Politely
So the question then becomes, “How do we actually do this?” The answer: be Jacob Elordi. Just kidding. Let’s focus on another key part of what Elordi’s teacher said, which was to “kick the door down politely.” Of course, they didn’t mean that literally, which is great, because actors aren’t that good at violence.
What they did mean was to metaphorically kick the door down by making strong, bold choices in a confident, relaxed manner that says, “This is who the character is.” What those choices look like will vary depending on the role and the actor, but they can include:
- Making a specific point of view about the scene.
- Committing to a clear emotional tone instead of playing it safe.
- Making a lived-in choice vs. a static one. (Examples include answering the question: “What was the character doing right before this, and what are they doing right after?”)
- Playing a distinct relationship dynamic with the other character that they might not even know about.
- Even something as simple as deciding where your character holds tension in their body and letting that inform how they move and speak.
You don’t need to do any of these specific things, but as long as whatever you do is delivered with an energy of not needing approval and an embodied sense of certainty, it’s going to land far better than, “Is this okay?” or “Hey, do you guys like me?”
A friend of mine who does a lot of improv, books all the time, and consistently makes big choices in auditions once said to me, “Dude, they don’t even know what they want. It’s your job to show them.” And that really is the job: to make such a clear impression that they realize you are the one they’ve been looking for.
Another actor friend of mine once said you should be able to watch an audition with the sound off and still have a clear sense of what’s happening in the scene. That’s how embodied and powerful a great audition can be.
It’s fair to say that in commercials there might be more latitude for experimentation, but that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself in TV and film. If anything, that’s where bold, specific choices matter even more, especially since so many other actors are preoccupied with sticking to a safe, traditional read of the material.
The Shift
I want to fully acknowledge that auditioning can be extremely hard. It’s very easy for me to sit here and talk about certainty and confidence like it’s something you can just flip on and off, but it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes your nerves show up, and sometimes old patterns take over. That’s okay, because it’s all part of it.
But the more you shift toward making proactive choices, toward embodiment, and toward committing to what you believe is right for the character and for yourself as an actor, the easier it becomes.
And this isn’t just useful for acting, it’s beneficial for your whole life. At the very least, you get to walk out knowing you went for it and didn’t hold back. You put yourself out there. You didn’t ask. You showed them that you committed the crime.
