I hate auditions.
I did work hard at auditions, and three years at RADA isn't like a walk in the park. And then it takes a lot of sacrifices, giving certain things up in order to audition, in order to do a play, whatever it may be.
Seeing other people perform inspires me. I couldn't be a good performer if just relied on my own talents. Seeing what other brave choices other actors are making gives me the strength to be bold in auditions and to approach roles in different kind of ways.
I realized that the actors that I liked and admired all went to drama school and got an agent that way. So I started when I was about 16 in drama school, and then I knew I had to wait until I was 18 so I could go on auditions, and I tried to get into one of the ones that I liked and then go from there.
My mom always wanted me to be an actor. And I started going to theater and going on auditions young.
I don't try and be competitive with auditions. When I go on one, I kind of just forget about it.
And I was victim to that very early in my career, where I would go into auditions, and I'd be wearing a big T shirt, a big baggy T shirt and loose jeans. You know, to try and show people that there was more to me than just that.
The biggest auditions can be the most freeing. The odds are always stacked against you and you always expect someone famous to get the part, so it eases the pressure.
Auditions are just another chance to act - that's why I love them.
I've got a lot of friends who are actors so even when I don't have auditions of my own, I'll be working on someone else's scenes with them.
