Casting interview: what happens in the room, what gets asked, and how a production should run one

A casting interview is two things at once, and most advice covers only one of them. It is an audition, which the industry understands extremely well. It is also a selection process, which is where productions, agencies and brands regularly get caught out.

This article covers both: what happens in the room, what casting directors ask and listen for, how self-tapes changed it, and what a production needs to do so the process would stand up if anyone asked. It is general information, not legal advice.

A casting is a series of stages, forms and decisions with a hand-off at each one, which is exactly the kind of process that goes wrong when it lives in an inbox. See how New Dynamics workflows let you define your own stages, forms and approvals, with a completion view instead of a spreadsheet.

What a casting interview is

Auditioning is routine work rather than an event. The National Careers Service's actor profile lists the day-to-day as working "with an agent to find new roles and opportunities", preparing for and going to auditions, researching roles, learning lines and attending rehearsals, attending costume fittings, supporting backstage activity, and working as a voice-over artist or an extra. It also notes the conditions plainly: the environment "may be physically and emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home".

Prospects' actor profile adds the surrounding responsibilities: seeking out work and networking, liaising with an agent, researching or preparing to "get into character", discussing interpretation and delivery with the company and the director, and performing live, in studio or on location.

The casting interview sits at the front of all that. Typically it covers who you are, what you have done, whether you are free for the dates, and then the part itself.

How it differs from a job interview

• The material is the evidence. The read, the movement or the tape does most of the assessing, not the answers.
• Fit can mean physical appearance in a way it cannot in most jobs, and that is precisely why the boundaries matter.
• It is usually a short engagement, often as a self-employed performer, so questions about notice periods and career plans are beside the point.
• The decision is often not explained, which is normal in the industry and still worth saying out loud at the end.

What happens in the room

1. Arrival and forms. Name, agent, contact, sometimes measurements or a size sheet for costume, and a release for filming the session. Read it before you sign it.
2. The conversation. Short. Who you are, recent work, availability for the shoot or run dates, anything the role demands, a skill, a driving licence, a language, comfort with specific content.
3. The read or the performance. Sides sent in advance, a cold read, a movement or dance call, an improvisation, or a piece to camera.
4. The redirect. You are given an adjustment and asked to do it again. This is the most informative part of the session for both sides: it tests whether you can take direction, and it tells you how the director works.

Afterwards: a recall, a chemistry read with another performer, a pin or an availability check, or nothing at all.

What casting directors ask, and what they are listening for

• "Tell us about yourself." Listening for: brevity and warmth, not a career history. Two sentences and stop.
• "What have you been working on?" Listening for: current activity and honesty about scale.
• "Are you available on these dates?" Listening for: a real answer. Say if something is provisional.
• "Are you comfortable with [the demands of the part]?", stunts, intimacy, nudity, heights, animals, specific content. Listening for: a clear yes or no, not a brave guess.
• "Can you [skill]?", ride, drive, skate, swim, play an instrument, hold an accent. Listening for: the truth. Claiming a skill you lack is the one lie that always surfaces, usually expensively, on a shoot day.
• "Do you have any questions?" Listening for: interest in the work rather than the deal.

Good preparation is narrow: know the sides, know the two or three facts about the project that shape your choices, and have one version ready plus the willingness to abandon it.

Self-tapes

Most first rounds now happen on tape, which changes the interview rather than removing it.

• Follow the instructions exactly, slate, framing, file naming, deadline. Ignoring them is a data point.
• Sound matters more than picture. A quiet room beats a good camera.
• Plain background, eyeline just off lens, reader close to camera and quieter than you.
• Two takes, different choices, if the brief allows it. Not six.

For the production side, self-tapes create obligations that a room does not: you are now holding video files of applicants, with everything that follows about storage, access and deletion.

Running a casting: the production side

Acas's guidance on interviewing job applicants is written for ordinary hiring, and it applies here too.

• Prepare the questions. They "must not discriminate", and it helps to check that everyone in the room "understand[s] the law on discrimination".
• More than one person. "If possible, each interview should be carried out by more than 1 person to reduce the risk of discriminating."
• Ask the same questions. "When interviewing it's a good idea to ask each applicant the same questions where possible. This is to ensure you're treating applicants in the same way."
• Reasonable adjustments. "By law you must ask anyone coming to an interview to tell you if they need reasonable adjustments so they can attend." For a casting that can mean an accessible venue, sides sent in advance, extra time, or a different way to present the material.
• Recording. "If you need to record the interview, you must get the person's permission first." A release form is the industry's version of this, and it should be readable and honest about what the footage will be used for.
• Data. Notes, tapes and photographs "must" be stored "securely and confidentially", following data protection rules. Decide the retention period before you start collecting, and delete on schedule.
• Close properly. Tell people when and how they will hear, and what feedback to expect. "You will hear from us if you are recalled" is a complete answer; silence is not.
• Decide against the brief. Acas's test is whether decisions are "based on how each applicant met each point in the job description and person specification". For a casting, the character breakdown and the practical requirements are that specification, so write them down before the first session, not after.

When a role can genuinely require a protected characteristic

This is the question productions ask and rarely get a clear answer to.

The Equality Act 2010 provides a narrow exception. Under Schedule 9, a person does not contravene the relevant provisions "by applying in relation to work a requirement to have a particular protected characteristic", if they show that, "having regard to the nature or context of the work":

• "it is an occupational requirement";
• "the application of the requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim"; and
• the person it is applied to does not meet it, or there are reasonable grounds for not being satisfied that they do.

Three things follow for a casting.

It is assessed part by part. The test looks at "the nature or context of the work" (this role, in this production) not at a general practice or a genre convention.

Proportionality has to be argued, not assumed. A legitimate aim has to be identified, and the requirement has to be a proportionate way of achieving it.

It does not license anything else in the process. Even where a requirement is lawful for the part, the rest of the casting (the questions, the adjustments, the recording, the records) is governed by the ordinary rules.

Productions relying on this should take their own advice on the specific role. Our diversity and inclusion guide covers the wider discipline of writing requirements that are genuinely requirements, which is the same habit in a different setting.

What not to ask

Everything that is unrelated to the part or to the practicalities of the engagement: plans to have children, marital status, religion, health or disability as a way of assessing suitability rather than of offering adjustments, nationality or place of birth, or age where the part does not turn on it.

Two casting-specific ones worth naming. Do not ask a performer to do anything at a casting that was not in the brief they accepted, particularly anything involving removing clothing or physical contact. And do not use "we just need someone who looks right" as a substitute for a written breakdown; it is the sentence under which most avoidable problems happen.

Money, agents and Equity

Prospects notes that minimum wages "are negotiated by Equity, the trade union for professional performers and other creative workers", and that rates "depend on the type of employment, location and number of performances". It also describes the agent's role: an agent may negotiate higher wages, "taking a percentage of your earnings as a fee", and securing an agent is itself competitive, "involving networking and often inviting agents to see you perform, or sending them a showreel".

For the production, the practical point is that the casting brief should say what the engagement is (dates, usage, fee basis) before people spend a day preparing for it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a casting interview?

The conversation that surrounds an audition: who the performer is, what they have done recently, whether they are available for the dates, whether they are comfortable with what the part requires, and any skills it depends on. It is usually followed by a read, a performance or a piece to camera, and often by a redirect to see whether the performer can take direction.

What questions are asked at a casting?

Short ones. Tell us about yourself, what you have been working on, whether you are free on the shoot or run dates, whether you are comfortable with the demands of the part, whether you genuinely have the skills the role needs, and whether you have any questions. The read itself does most of the assessing.

How should you prepare for a casting interview?

Know the sides, know the two or three facts about the project that shape your choices, prepare one clear version and be willing to abandon it when redirected. Be accurate about availability and about any skill the part depends on, and read the release form before signing it.

What is a self-tape and what makes a good one?

A recorded audition submitted instead of attending in person. Follow the brief exactly on slate, framing, file naming and deadline; prioritise sound over picture; use a plain background with the reader close to camera and quieter than you; and submit two takes with different choices rather than six similar ones.

What rules apply when a production runs a casting?

The same fairness rules as any selection process. Acas advises preparing questions that must not discriminate, having more than one person in the room where possible, asking each applicant the same questions where you can, asking everyone about reasonable adjustments, getting permission before recording, storing notes and recordings securely under data protection rules, and deciding against the written requirements for the role.

Can a role be restricted to someone of a particular sex, race or age?

Only through a narrow statutory exception. The Equality Act 2010 permits a requirement to have a particular protected characteristic where, having regard to the nature or context of the work, it is an occupational requirement and applying it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. It is assessed for the specific part, it has to be argued rather than assumed, and it does not relax any other part of the process. This is general information, not legal advice.

Your next step: write the breakdown before the first session

1. Write the character breakdown and the practical requirements down before anyone is seen.
2. Fix the questions everyone will be asked, and put two people in the room.
3. Ask every attendee about reasonable adjustments, and get permission before recording.
4. Set the retention period for tapes and notes at the start, and delete on schedule.

For writing requirements that are genuinely requirements rather than habits, read and download our diversity and inclusion guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want stages, forms and decisions in one place, so a casting process is visible rather than living in an inbox? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current casting brief. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.