{"id":7126,"date":"2024-12-03T11:28:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T11:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/?p=7126"},"modified":"2025-06-02T16:26:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T16:26:22","slug":"getting-started-with-commercial-acting-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotlight.com\/news-and-advice\/the-essentials\/getting-started-with-commercial-acting-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Work in Commercials: A Beginner’s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tips for actors looking to break into commercial work, including what to expect at the audition, how much you\u2019ll get paid and what to look for in breakdowns.<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n

On average, around 60% of the auditions you do as an actor in the UK are for commercials. Brands are producing television advertisements all year round for things like beauty, food, retail, technology and more. Commercial work can be financially beneficial for the working actor, with brands paying anything upwards of \u00a32,000 to featured artists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you enjoy travelling, working on commercials can sometimes involve travelling abroad to film for a few days and having the costs covered. Commercial work can also be a great stop gap between other work, providing financial security and getting seen by casting directors who work on other types of productions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Commercials can be fun shoots. You can learn so much about being on camera and how to tap into a different skill set than you would for stage or screen work. Commercials are shorter and often won\u2019t include dialogue, as actors this can be challenging. Commercial work can give actors an opportunity to work on conveying emotion without text, working within a smaller time frame on a character and also working with a client or product in mind, which can introduce a whole new level of skill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is what you need to know about working in commercials and how you can get started:<\/span><\/p>\n

How Can I Work in Commercials?<\/h3>\n

The best way to find commercial work is through agency representation. If you have an agent, it\u2019s important to discuss with them that you\u2019re interested in pursuing commercial roles, and the types of roles you\u2019d be open to playing. Bigger agencies often have a separate commercial division for clients, but generally, most agencies will submit you for all types of roles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a member of Spotlight and have been set the appropriate level of access by your agent, or if you\u2019re self-represented, you can also submit yourself for commercial work using the <\/span>Jobs Feed<\/span><\/a>. If you\u2019re looking for agents who specialise in commercial representation then you can use <\/span>Spotlight Contacts<\/span><\/a> Agency Database to help you get started.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Auditioning and working in commercials can involve an element of luck. Many productions have a specific idea in mind to fit the brief. For casting there is a client involved that needs to be considered, so when you start auditioning you may find that it\u2019s more efficient and involves specificity in what they are looking for. Booking commercial work can feel like a lottery, but it’s good to audition as much as you can to get an understanding for how the process works.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Do You Audition for Commercials?<\/h3>\n

Auditions for commercials will most likely involve a self-tape and a recall stage. Before you get to the acting portion of a commercial audition, there are a number of details that are useful to know about what the process is like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In-person auditions will involve the same instructions you have for a self-tape, so the details below can be applied to both.<\/span><\/p>\n

Submissions<\/b><\/h4>\n

A commercial audition breakdown or submission will come with heaps of information, including: the brand or product the project is for, when and where it will shoot, the fees, self-tape instructions and any forms that need to be filled in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost every commercial audition or self-tape I\u2019ve had involves a form. I make sure to fill it in before I tape if I can or make a note that it needs to be done before submission. Some forms require you to submit the tape directly, which will be explained in the submission email, so it’s important to read everything thoroughly.<\/span><\/p>\n

The forms should be easy to fill out. They\u2019ll normally ask you for:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n