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‘It’s soul-destroying’: actors’ fury over the rise of self-tape auditions

Equity union says filming audition scenes at home amounts to unpaid labour and reinforces elitism

Actors seeking their next role are now routinely asked to “self-tape” their auditions, a practice that amounts to unpaid labour and reinforces elitism in the creative industries, the union Equity has warned. Hywel Morgan, an actor and Equity councillor, who has appeared in Gentleman Jack and Slow Horses, said he knows of performers who have had to memorise as many as 12 pages of dialogue for self-tapes. Max Rumney, Pact’s deputy chief executive, said producers are sympathetic to actors’ concerns and that a “scattergun approach” to casting does not benefit anyone.

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