An actor with experience in both film and stage work gets used to the different performance styles relevant to each discipline. Casting to type is typically the norm for screen media, whereas for stage auditions your actual looks matter less than how you present them.

The great film actor and director Clint Eastwood quotes the drama coach who used to tell him, ‘Don’t just do something, stand there.’ In film the actor’s performance is centred on economy, and that economy demands a particular discipline from the performer. Very often where you would expect an expansive gesture, you have to look for the most minimal realisation of the moment. You can’t expect to pace about or wave your arms: you have to concentrate the emotion in your face, or in the smallest, most telling hand movement.

The greatest actors are at home both onstage and onscreen. This is because, in truth, the difference is only one of degree. The rule for film auditions is ‘do less’; onstage you work at achieving the same intensity for emotional effect, but you have a greater range of expression available to you.

Whether you go to casting calls for film or television, or whether you go to West End auditions for the stage, it is in your interest to be able to adapt to both styles of acting. Here at Audition Now we give you the latest opportunities to put yourself on view, as that way you can make the most of your stage or screen talents.