Have an upcoming audition for TV? Here’s everything you need to know to set yourself up for success.
Actress Aïda Leventaki saw first-hand how auditioning for TV roles is like taking part in the final step of a filtering process you didn’t even know you were in; roles get broken down and rewritten, submissions get evaluated, and short lists get built before a single set of sides hits an actor’s inbox.
The Scottish, Greek and Syrian actress started her education with youth theater and dance in Scotland, and after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she starred in Booze directed by George C. Heslin before making her off-Broadway debut at the Irish Repertory Theatre in Belfast Girls.
She landed the role of Jane in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, and Aïda is now set to appear in the upcoming feature film Good Sex, directed by Lena Dunham.
Aïda and I discuss her audition process, the privilege she’s had in telling Scottish stories authentically, and why some of her most stressful tapes have been the most creative.
Key Insights
- Casting directors have already eliminated most actors before auditions are scheduled. Treat your profile presentation and submission materials as your pre-audition.
- TV roles are built from breakdowns that are specific to more than type. Tone, network, showrunner vision, and episode arc all shape who gets called in.
- Self-tape auditions haven’t entirely leveled the playing field: they’ve raised the baseline, making technical quality and slate-to-read consistency a screening filter.
What Actually Happens Before Your TV Audition
Television roles begin with a breakdown, a character description distributed to agents and managers through platforms like Casting Networks. Casting directors will filter submissions through union status, physical type and representation tier, so the audition ends up feeling like the end of a selection funnel, not the starting line.
For her first TV audition, Aïda sent in two takes of one line. It was very simple, taking a note given by casting about the character. “I wish I was one of those actors that just gets things done quickly, but I always spend forever preparing and re-taping. I didn’t need a reader and I had to get to my shift [at work] on time, so I just got it done, sent it and tried not to overthink.”
After she booked the role, she found it fascinating to observe the directors engaged in their various processes. “This was the most time I had spent on a set, and returning each time to the same faces and rooms was really incredible.”
How TV Roles Are Categorized
The hierarchy of TV roles come with their own audition expectations and casting timelines. Roles can be categorized into series regular, recurring, guest star, co-star and under five (five lines or less).
Co-stars and under fives are often cast quickly from a smaller submission pool, but casting a series regular can take weeks, with multiple rounds of callbacks. Guest star roles typically require stronger credits and are rarely cast from open submissions. It’s important to know which category your role falls into, especially if it changes at any point. It gives you an indication of creative range.
In Aïda’s case, the role changed as her audition process unfolded: “Originally I was just going to have one scene as a co-star, with no lines, but as the weeks went on I was brought back several times and ended up getting to really develop a little world in Calvin [Klein’s] office.”
How to Get Submitted for TV Roles
Actors with professional representation get submitted by agents or managers who pitch them against the breakdowns they have access to. Self-submitting actors use platforms like Casting Networks to apply directly to roles when submissions open beyond represented talent. An up-to-date profile is what a casting director is looking at when making a decision about who to bring in.
Having representation you can rely on to submit you for the right roles is partly how Aïda ended up playing Jane: “I have a great relationship with my agents at Zuri,” Aïda says. “They’ve been through the ups and downs with me, so these small wins are something for all of us to celebrate.”
In the summer, she booked a role in the feature film Good Sex, and according to Aïda, “It was one of the best days of my life. I will never recover from being directed by Lena Dunham. I’m actually smiling right now thinking about it.” Filming in New York she was under the impression everything was top secret, but when she went home, a viral reel with paparazzi footage was making the rounds.
What Casting Directors Are Actually Looking for
Casting directors are looking for actors with specificity. They often pre-read actors on behalf of producers and showrunners to eliminate risks. Occasionally, they cast with the concept of “fitting the room,” mentally placing an actor against already-cast leads.
Aïda makes an important point about how everyone’s career path may look different, but when it comes to auditioning, casting directors want you to do well and feel good about your work.
“Make a strong choice based on your first instincts, gather all the information that helps you, and just go with your gut. It should be there living inside you, and if you’re being truthful and bringing yourself to the role, there’s nothing more you can do.”
She goes on to say that it’s imperative to remember there are people rooting for you behind the scenes. “You just don’t know who might be sending your tapes or referring you for other jobs, you also don’t know who you’ll meet along the way. “
How to Prepare a Scene
After an audition submission is accepted, an actor is given sides, which are usually a few pages of a scene to prepare. Aïda makes notes from the material, reading the whole script, researching the team involved and the work they’ve done, and getting all the information she can to help her feel grounded.
To prepare a scene, identify a character’s overall objective in the story to give you context. Learn the lines, but be careful not to lock into a rhythm. Casting directors appreciate strong choices, but they also offer redirection in the room.
For Good Sex, she expressed her creative instinct by sending in two versions of her tape. One conventional, shot as instructed, and the other in POV, featuring her partner. Having fun with it paid off, and they booked the role as a couple.
What the Self Tape Actually Requires
Self tapes are now the first-round standard for TV auditions on major productions. Casting directors are going through so many submissions, and they typically watch only the first 15 seconds.
To ensure your tape gets seen, plot a strong start, use a neutral background, frame with a clear eye-line, and use a reader off-camera. Avoid over-production: don’t use editing filters, music or graphics.
Aïda suggests dialing it back: “It’s easy to be expressive when you’ve worked in theater or have adrenaline in an audition, but remember to be natural and see how close the person is in front of you. The camera picks it up and exacerbates it even more.”
Self-tape turnarounds are usually 24-48 hours, depending on the production and the length of sides. She’s often told to submit early, and while that may have its benefits, it’s rarely a luxury Aïda and many other actors will have. She also shares, “I’ve found all my most stressful tapes end up being the most creative. Change is good. Change your reader, change your environment, get out of your comfort zone, that’s when the good stuff happens!”
Finding a way to recreate the in-person audition experience, she recommends working with a coach for bigger auditions: “It makes me feel like I’m in a proper audition instead of my usual setup.”
What Happens During an In-Person Audition
At an in-person audition, there will be a reader, a camera on a tripod, and one or two people seated behind a table. When you audition, your eyeline should be directed toward your reader, just off-camera or where directed. Casting might routinely give an adjustment to see if you can apply the note effectively.
Meeting the casting team before getting to set is not always guaranteed, which was the case for Aïda for both Love Story and Good Sex. “Everything happens so quickly, and you spend the most time with the people you’re working with on set.”
Callbacks, Chemistry Reads and the Network Test
The casting process follows a sequence:
- The First Read
- Callbacks/Chemistry Reads
- The Producer Session
- Network Test
Each round narrows the field significantly, especially with chemistry reads. The network test is where things start to get serious with actors required to sign holding deals with legal and financial implications.
Things can change at any point, and after booking an exciting TV project, her character was taken out of the script due to rewrites before filming even started. She enjoyed the time she spent working with the casting director, but “it can be really disheartening to have an offer and not get to work on the show, but I’d say the best takeaway is always getting to form that connection with the team.”
Building the Profile and Track Record That Gets You in the Room
Her work with the Irish Rep can be traced back to a tape she sent in for Normal People. There was an in-house casting director and her tape got into the right hands. Before she knew it, she was making her off-Broadway debut in Belfast Girls, directed by fellow alumni Nicola Murphy Dubey.
Aïda’s audition process is about being creatively consistent, and it’s exciting for her to notice these patterns of hard work paying off. Having a resume stacked with credits, building a profile and keeping it updated is great, but what truly creates a good track record is reliability and dependability.
Conclusion
There is a system for casting and auditioning for TV and it’s helpful to understand how it works, where you fit in, and how to manage the components that you have no control over.
To find out more about Aïda, check out her IMDB or follow her on instagram: @aidaleventaki
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