An open casting call is an audition anyone can attend or submit to, no agent needed. They're real but rare in film and TV: mostly for kids, very specific looks or unusual skills, plus theatre, theme parks and reality shows. A real one never asks you to pay. Here is where real calls are posted and how to spot fakes.
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An open casting call (or open call) is an audition anyone can go to or submit for, without an agent and without an invitation. Most film and TV roles work the other way: casting releases a breakdown, agents submit their clients, and casting picks who to see.
An open call is the exception, used when the usual channels won't find the person a production needs. Many are now online: you send a self tape instead of queuing outside a building.
Kym Jackson says real open calls are mostly for people under 18, very specific looks, ethnicities or languages, or unusual skills, because those people are hard to find through agents. Kym booked a feature film after a friend sent her a production's own website asking for audition tapes.
Outside film and TV, a few places run open auditions as a matter of routine, as of November 2026:
Mostly on the casting sites the industry already uses. Child acting expert Karen Workman told us children's auditions are listed in the same places as adults': Backstage, Actors Access, Casting Networks and Casting Frontier. She also watches special-interest film groups on Facebook and local theatres, and treats Craigslist calls with a grain of salt.
Gary Marsh, from our Breakdown Services Q&A, explained that projects on Actors Access are checked by a team before they go up, including calls to the union when a job says it's union. On open boards anyone can post, so you do the checking. Casting director John Frank Levey told us he posts his breakdowns through Breakdown Services and nowhere else. Our guide to casting sites for actors compares the main platforms.
No, that's the point of an open call. But don't rely on open calls as your main source of work. Gary Marsh told us one casting office admitted that 75 to 80 percent of the actors it brings in are people it already knows, with around 20 percent of slots kept for new faces.
Blair Hickey and Brian Wold's self-submission advice applies here too: show casting you solve their problem. For the bigger picture on finding work without a rep, see acting jobs: how to find auditions and what Breakdown Services is.
The US Federal Trade Commission's guidance on modelling and talent scams lists the warning signs: they ask you to pay them, promise you work or big money, insist you use their photographer, rush you to decide, can't show a real track record, or pose as talent scouts approaching parents. In a December 2025 alert it warned about texts offering auditions for well-known titles and "virtual open calls" that turn into a pitch for paid photo shoots or classes.
Gary Marsh added two patterns: fake notices that are really a way to meet women, and "you're nearly right, just pay for our class first". If it feels like phishing, it probably is.
No. Kym is blunt: anyone charging you to audition for a role is not connected to that project, because no legitimate casting office would risk the legal mess. Disney Channel's own talent search page says there is never a fee to audition or attend its official talent search.
Paying for other things is a separate question. A casting site subscription, an acting class, a workshop or a showcase can be a reasonable business expense if you know what you're buying. Blair Hickey and Brian Wold draw the line simply: paying to audition is out; paying for a chance to learn or meet people is your call. And as of November 2026, SAG-AFTRA says its franchised agents may not charge up-front fees of any kind.
Kids' open calls are real and fairly common, which is why scammers target parents. Karen Workman told us the biggest trap is paying to audition, whether for an agency or a show, and that a legitimate agent who will send your child out and negotiate their contracts shouldn't charge a fee to join. If a "talent competition" win comes with a joining fee, do your homework.
For paid showcases, Karen suggests asking for past programs and alumni names. More for parents in how to get your child into acting and how to audition for Disney.
Follow the call's instructions exactly: the photo, video length and details it asks for, nothing more. Kym's limits for anything you send: no nudity, no bank details or card numbers. A real call asks for your work, not your money.
For in-person calls, bring a printed headshot and resume anyway; casting director Kerry Barden calls it your business card.
Act quickly. The FTC says to report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the sooner you act, the better. Kym also suggests reporting anyone charging for "auditions" to SAG-AFTRA, and if a real project is being impersonated, letting its actual casting office know.
This is general information, not legal advice; for money you've lost, talk to your bank and, if needed, a lawyer.
Yes, but they are the exception. Kym Jackson says they are mostly for under-18s, very specific looks, languages or unusual skills that agents can't easily supply.
On established casting sites such as Actors Access, Backstage and Casting Networks, and on official production pages like Netflix Reality or Disney's auditions site.
No. Paying to audition is a sign of a scam. The FTC says scammers ask you to pay them, and Disney Channel says there is never a fee for its official talent search.
Watch for requests for money or bank details, guaranteed work, pressure to decide fast, a required photographer, or a casting director you can't find any credits for.
No. Open calls are open to anyone who fits the description, but most film and TV roles are still cast through agents and casting directors' existing contacts.
Act quickly. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, contact your bank, and report anyone charging for auditions to SAG-AFTRA.
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