Famed for playing Hayley Cropper - one of Coronation Street's most iconic characters - it looked like actress, Julie Hesmondhalgh was set for life.

Little did she know, however, that one theatre production was set to change EVERYTHING - awakening an actor within her, whom she thought she'd lost forever.

In 2014, fuelled by this new found actor within, Julie waved goodbye to the cobbles, embarking on the most uncertain journey of her acting career so far.

It was a gamble that...

Nic Phillips has been a TV director for almost 40 years - and in that time he's directed some iconic shows!

Everything from Grange Hill to Casualty, The Bill, Birds Of A Feather, Goodnight Sweetheart, My Family, and EastEnders.

As I type this, Nic is over on the cobbles, directing Coronation Street.

I know LOTS of actors in the Act On This community, are currently looking for guest roles in shows like Coronation Street and EastEnders - so I couldn't think of anyone better to sit down...

One of my main goals with Act On This, is to give you access to as many reputable, legitimate, industry professionals as possible - and agent Guy Howe, from WGM Talent, has been on my list of guests for many years now.

Guy established the dual-based (Manchester/ London) acting agency WGM Talent in 2014, and has since grown it into one of the most innovative agencies in the industry.

I dropped by MediaCityUK, where Guy's Manchester office is based, for a coffee-fueled chat on all things...

Fifteen years ago, I was introduced to the voiceover industry - it TRANSFORMED my life.

I'd discovered a world that went hand-in-hand with my acting career.

A world, where I could use my acting talent on a weekly basis, to earn 5x my minimum wage salary, in 10x LESS TIME!

Voiceover hasn't just benefitted me financially though - it's a rich, vibrant, fulfilling industry, full of AMAZING people, and AMAZING projects.

Today I voice everything from TV and radio commercials, to documentaries, video...

Is there really such a thing as an 'overnight success'?

In my experience, the answer to that question, is a resounding NO!

Success in the acting industry, or anything worthwhile in life, for that matter, takes A LONG TIME - years, decades, or more.

That's certainly been the case for Hollyoaks actress Haiesha Mistry too.

She may look super-young, but Haiesha has been putting everything she has into the acting industry for the last 10 years, and it's only now she is able to reap...

WOW - what a Q&A this was - with one of the MOST SUCCESSFUL casting directors I've had the pleasure of hosting on Act On This - Victor Jenkins CDG!

Responsible for casting some of the VERY BEST TV drama in existence - Humans, Unforgotten, Broadchurch, Grantchester, The Rook, to name but a few - Victor's casting and acting career advice is INVALUABLE!

Hear Victor's advice on agents, auditions, self-tapes, making waves online, creating your own work + MORE!

---

Watch a PREVIEW of this...

It's gives me GREAT pleasure to welcome back an AWESOME friend of Act On This - head of Hollyoaks casting, Peter Hunt CDG!

I wanted to give members the chance to interact with Peter directly, so we opened the floor up for an 'anything goes' Q&A session!

Being one of the most loyal and honest casting directors in the game, this guy didn't disappoint, and dropped some PRICELESS knowledge-bombs, GUARANTEED to help you book more castings than EVER BEFORE!

---

Watch a PREVIEW of this broadcast...

When I bumped into BAFTA-nominated writer and creator of BBC One's Poldark, Debbie Horsfield, at a recent readthrough - I just HAD to ask her to take part in a podcast with me.

You see, we hear about casting from a casting director and director's perspective all the time - but NEVER from a writer's perspective.

Writers play a HUGE part in casting their shows, particularly with many of them being exec producers too.

I caught up with Debbie to get her view on casting, along with the keys to...

What can I say about Daniel Edwards?

Well without massaging his ego too much, he's one of the most genuine, honest and loyal casting directors in TV.

I first met Daniel when he was casting ITV's Mr Selfridge, and since then he's gone on to cast INCREDIBLE shows like Ripper Street, Line Of Duty (co-casting with Kate Rhodes James), ITV's Him, Channel 4’s Born To Kill, and Netflix smash The Innocents.

Recently, I was reading-in for Daniel on a undisclosed drama, that he is currently...

I met Rachel Shenton, when we were both working on Hollyoaks - many moons ago.

A couple of years back, she started talking to me about a film she wanted to write, about a deaf girl, born into a hearing family.

I thought it sounded like an amazing idea, but we both knew it would require a tremendous amount of work to make it a reality.

Fast forward to the present day, and that film is not only a reality, it's just won Rachel AN OSCAR!

Of course, I had to invite Rachel down to MediaCityUK for...