Paul Liberti

"If you arrive an hour or even 45 minutes early, you might throw off the casting session by bumping other actors. They might not have room for you to just hang out, either. So be professional. Arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the scheduled time.”

Strike two: Don't sign in until you've studied and rehearsed the script. Why?

"The moment you sign in, you are saying that you are ready to go,” Liberti explains. "If you haven't even read the copy, and in walks the casting person who says, ‘Great, you can come in now!' – well, you're not ready.”

Strike three: Well … why go that far? Instead, concentrate on hitting the home run. Most important:

"Be yourself,” Liberti urges. "Don't try to sound like anyone but you! No one else thinks like you, has had your experiences, or phrases copy like you do. So be the best you that you can be.”

For online auditions, Liberti advises quick response to notices. "If you don't act quickly, the job may go to someone else. And don't be afraid to thank those who gave you the opportunity to audition,” he adds.

Still, even audition veterans get studio surprises. Liberti fetches this one from his past:

"After watching the casting folks at an audition shake their heads through the glass, I turned to the other actor, with whom I was reading a double, and said, ‘They hate us. Why don't they just let us go?'

"Well, I had forgotten that they could hear us talking. And a booming voice answered back: ‘We don't hate you Paul. We're just trying to figure out who to read you with next!'

"So I learned to never try to second-guess the casting people. Just do what you do, and trust your work.”