Aaron Marcus, a 36-year veteran actor, explains why audition responses vary wildly. TV shows typically call back within days, but feature films can take months or never respond. He once waited four to five months for a callback that led to a booking, and says most silence means rejection.
Hey, if you're wondering how long does it take for an actor to hear back after an audition, watch this video to the end and I'm going to be sharing with you exactly how long it takes before you hear about an audition. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center where I share my 36+ years of experiences in the industry and help other people, hopefully, and give you some information from, from what I've learned. So if, if you haven't done this yet, don't forget, click the subscription button and also the notification bell. That way, every time I upload a new video, you will know about it. And if you like the video, please give it a thumbs up. That's helpful. So what I'm going to be talking about here is you go to an audition, you do the audition, And then what happens? Is there a certain amount of time it takes? Uh, oh, you know what? Before I forget, watch this until the end. I've got a special video that I'm going to share with you. It's about the traps that a lot of actors fall into at auditions. You'll be able to avoid it. So you'll be able to see the link above towards the end of the video. So you do the audition. And look, there is no specific number. It's not like you go in for an audition today and you have within 24 hours before you'll be notified. It just doesn't work that way. Now, I can tell you that for TV, typically, if you do get booked or you get a callback, it's going to happen pretty soon, within a couple of days, only because while they're shooting an episode now, they're beginning to prep For the next episode, which means you are auditioning for the next episode and they need to make decisions pretty quickly. So yeah, if you are going to get a callback or offered the role, they will call you or email you or text you pretty soon. Now, if it's for a film, a feature film, boy, that can be hard. Look, sometimes you could hear the next day. Sometimes it might be a week, it could be 2 weeks. There was a film that I auditioned for, never got a callback. I just completely forgot about it. And it must have been maybe 4 months later, 4 or 5 months later, I found out that I had a callback. I didn't remember. I had to ask the agent to send me the sides again because I, you know, I deleted those things a long time ago. And fortunately, as it turned out, I did book it. But it was, it was almost half a year, you know, in between my initial audition, the callback, and then it was probably like another 2, 3, 4 months before we actually started shooting. So there really is no way of knowing. And, and unfortunately for us, most of the time— there are some exceptions— most of the time We just don't hear unless they want to see us again or they want to book us. So when you don't hear back, you know, you can pretty much assume it's not going to happen for you. But, but then again, that's my strategy for every audition. I never think I'm going to book the job. I just go in there and I try to have a good time at the audition, and then the best I can, I just try to let it go. And I think I think that helps take some of the pressure off, and I just know that the realities of casting, there are just so many factors that go into it. You're too tall, you're not tall enough, you're too attractive, you're not attractive enough, you look too much like some of the other people who are starring in it. There are a million and one reasons why you do and don't get booked for the job. So I think the most important thing is just let it go, enjoy yourself during the audition. But like I was saying, sometimes it can be crazy. I had a callback and never heard, and I was just always kind of wondering. And I happened to speak with the agent that had submitted me, and she said, oh, I thought I'd let you know that whole project got canceled. They didn't— the agent didn't even let me know. So, you know, I kind of thought, well, after a callback, sometimes they They will at least let you know about it because you're probably holding dates for them. They might have given you some very specific dates. You did a callback, at least you know it's down to a couple of people. And so yeah, that time I had a callback and the whole project just fell through and that stuff happens as well. Or a principal actor drops out, they have to find somebody else and it takes a long time. There's a complete rewrite because they don't like what's going on, they lose funding. Who knows? So there is no magic number, um, as to when you should hear. I can just tell you that most of the time— and there are some exceptions— most of the time you won't even know unless you got the callback. But anyhow, there, like I said, for TV, a little bit sooner. Film, uh, who knows what can happen. By the way, I mentioned that I was going to share a really, really helpful video with you, and if you look up here, you You're going to see the link and it's a great audition video so you don't fall into the trap that a lot of actors fall into during the audition. And by the way, if you have any information or experiences with doing an audition and, you know, how long did it take for you to hear back about a booking that you got, please share it here with others so that way we can learn from you because that's the whole point of this Of this channel is to have people sharing information with each other. And don't forget, if you haven't done this yet, subscribe, click the notification bell, and if you like the video, give it a thumbs up. And also, please share this link with all of your friends. Let's build a great community of people helping each other. By the way, I'm working in, in LA right now. That's why I'm in a hotel room. That's why the lighting is kind of funky. Um, but anyhow, This has been fun. I'm glad I was able to share this with you. And I'm Aaron Marcus. Can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
