A quiet hotel restaurant. A job interview. Neither is quite what it seems. We’ve got two absolutely cracking scenes this Saturday, and Claire and I cannot wait to see what our actors bring to them. Hotel Marceau — Ellen and Yasmine An invitation to sit down. A missing passport. Who really holds the power? The Ledger — Olivia and Eliza Four minutes for a job interview. But someone has come for something much bigger than a job. Three takes of each scene, fresh direction and a few unexpected turns. Come and watch what changes… We’ll be in our relaxed, supportive Green Room, where there’s space to explore, take chances and discover something new. Showing up for our fellow actors matters. And we learn so much by watching them work: a different choice, a moment of real listening, an unexpected reaction that changes the whole scene. Claire and I learn through this process too. Bring a cuppa, your curiosity and your support. We’d love you to join us. Saturday · 11 a.m. UK time (GMT) · Here on Skool See you there!

As actors, we need to stay on top of what’s changing in our industry. You don’t have to follow every new AI tool or agree with the way it’s being used. But if a casting brief asks for your likeness, a producer wants to alter your performance, or a client wants to reuse your voice, you want to understand what’s being asked before you say yes. Here’s what Claire and I think is worth paying attention to from the past two weeks. 𝟭. 𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗬 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗞𝗜𝗦: 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗦? Andy Serkis told LBC he sees uses for AI in film but doubts a generated Gollum or King Kong would be as effective as a character shaped by an actor. He used Hamlet as an example: give the same role to two actors and you’ll get two very different performances. I think that’s exactly the point. We’ve all had a moment in rehearsal when another actor gives us something unexpected and suddenly the scene goes somewhere neither of us planned. That’s part of the work, and it’s one of the things I love seeing in our Saturday Scene Studies. Read the LBC interview, 11 November 𝟮. 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦 In Houdini: Back from the Dead, human actors supplied the expressions, timing and pacing beneath the generated historical appearances. Chris Bellinger voiced Houdini, and a surviving recording of Houdini himself was restored for the series. The producer told Forbes the overall headcount was comparable, although some camera and sound work shifted to AI roles. The production also delivered late. Meanwhile, French director Bruno Dumont told Screen International he was making The End with generative AI, without actors or a traditional film crew. Both projects can turn up under the label “AI film”, but the label alone tells you very little about who was hired or whose work you’re seeing. Forbes on Houdini, 31 October · Screen International on The End, 6 November

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 — 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 🎬 An accent you want to feel confident using. A self-tape you know could be stronger. A scene you can learn word for word, but haven’t quite found your way into. These are things you can work on. And having someone who knows what to look for, who can spot what you are missing and give you practical direction, can make an enormous difference. We are building that support right here in The Actors Copilot Green Room, and I am very excited to introduce what is available now, and what is coming next. 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝘆𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁 — 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 Robyn is an award-winning actress, voice artist and dialect coach with 30 years of accent-coaching experience. Her screen credits include The Kissing Booth 2, Afterlife of the Party and Recipes for Love and Murder. She understands accent work from both sides: teaching it and taking it into performance. Working alongside actor and fellow coach Jason K. Ralph, Robyn offers coaching in Standard American and Standard British, with other accent needs available to discuss. You will work on sounds, rhythm, stress and melody, then connect that work to your acting. The aim is to help you bring the accent into a scene with greater confidence, so you can stay connected to the character and the person opposite you. Choose a one-hour session to assess where you are, identify your next steps, or refine an established accent for an audition. Or choose six sessions to build a foundation and develop it through practical performance work. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿: 𝗨𝗦$𝟵𝟬 — approximately €81 / £68 👉 Book your single accent coaching session 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝗨𝗦$𝟰𝟱𝟬 — approximately €407 / £340 👉 Book your six-session accent coaching package Payments are in US dollars. Euro and pound equivalents are approximate and may vary slightly when you book. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲, 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀 — 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗧𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 You can spend hours recording a tape and still feel unsure about the take you send. Sometimes you need another pair of eyes, clear feedback, and a practical way forward.

Let’s talk today about the part of every self-tape that actors treat as boring admin, and quietly get marked down for. The brief. With almost every tape, casting sends you more than a scene. They send instructions. The tone they are after, how they want it framed, what to wear, whether to slate and where, how many takes, how to label the file, and by when. And so many actors skim all of that in a hurry, get to the scene, and pour everything into the acting. Here is what they have missed. The brief is the very first piece of direction you are given, and how you handle it is the first thing casting learns about you. Think about what the job actually is. On a set, you take direction all day long. So before a single frame of your acting is watched, the brief is quietly asking one question. Can this actor read, listen, and do what is asked? If you have ignored half of what they requested, you have already answered it, and not in your favour. Every instruction in that brief is a message. A note that says keep it grounded and real is direction. A request for a plain background, a particular framing, a slate at the end rather than the top, a 48-hour turnaround, every one of those is telling you something. Following them precisely tells casting that if they book you, you will turn up, you will listen, and you will give the production what it actually needs. Your tape shows them your talent. The brief shows them your professionalism, and they are watching both. And this is one of the reasons we created The Actors Copilot. From the casting side, we have seen it so many times. An actor gives a lovely performance, but misses something clearly asked for in the brief. It does not mean they lack talent, but it can leave casting wondering whether they can trust them to follow direction when it matters. We want to help you build the habit of catching those details before you press record, so the care you put into your preparation comes through as clearly as your acting. So here is how you treat it properly.

A little personal request from Claire and me. 🧡 We're pouring our hearts, time and resources into building The Actors Copilot and our Green Room community. We want to keep bringing you more masterclasses, live sessions, resources and opportunities to grow as actors. But to do that, we need to reach more actors. And we'd really appreciate your help! The truth is, Claire and I are creatives, not social media experts! We're learning as we go, and believe me, it's hard work! Claire has been creating a rather hilarious Instagram campaign, and the first nine posts pictured above are part of it. 🙏 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦? Pop over to our Instagram page and give us a little boost! 💬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 on a post. Start a conversation! 🔁 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 something that makes you laugh or resonates with you. 📲 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘 a post to your story or with fellow actors. And please, don't stop at these nine! Whenever you see something from The Actors Copilot that's funny, useful or informative, we'd love you to share, repost or comment. Likes are lovely, but meaningful comments, shares and reposts can make a much bigger difference in helping us reach new audiences. 💰 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡 𝟰𝟬% 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡? Skool has an affiliate programme, and you can earn 40% commission by introducing other actors to our Green Room! We think that's only fair. If you help us grow, we'd love you to benefit too. 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞: 1. Click your profile picture (top right). 2. Select Settings. 3. Click Affiliates. 4. Copy your personal affiliate link and share it with fellow actors! When someone becomes a paying member through your link, Skool tracks your referral and handles your commission payments according to its terms. 🧡 𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥! We have big ambitions for this community, but it's not just about what Claire and I can bring to you. It's about what we can achieve when we support one another. Five minutes of your time could make a real difference. Thank you for being part of this journey and for helping us build something special for actors everywhere.