It’s important to understand that reality TV is not actually reality; it is scripted. The script might not necessarily have the exact lines for people to say, but it is scripted in terms of the situations and the outcomes that the creators are trying to achieve to make it interesting. In other words, the point of reality TV is not reality, it’s drama.
Your goal in auditioning for reality TV is to get people to react to you; any reaction is good. The best way to stand out and get a reaction in a reality TV audition is to have
- A very strong point of view/opinion(s)
- A big/bold personality trait
- A unique/attractive look.
This article gives details about what you can demonstrate in reality TV auditions to help you get cast and how to find reality show auditions. However, if you’re an actor, remember: reality shows can help you get more famous, but they might not necessarily help you with your acting career.
What they're looking for
People watch reality TV for the arguments, the confrontations, to look at attractive people or attraction between individuals. Reality TV is dubbed “reality” because it is a heightened version of our day-to-day dramas. So, if you are auditioning for a reality show, you need to communicate that you’re going to be someone who can create some or all these forms of drama.
A strong point of view can be an opinion that you know will make people want to debate you. Top Gear isn’t about the cars and tech they review, it’s about strongly opinionated friends competing with each other. RuPaul’s Drag Race is as much about drag as it is about interpersonal conflicts created by the judges’ very specific points of view.
A personality trait can be something like neuroticism, messiness, always being loud, anal-retentive, flirtatiousness, etc. that will also cause people to react strongly to you. Big Brother is really about people driving each other crazy with their conflicting personalities. They will purposely cast people who are loud and opinionated. The Real Housewives is popular because of the fights and conflicts between strong personalities.
A look doesn’t necessarily have to be attractive, it can be something that makes you stand out distinctively, like a hairstyle or color or a particular fashion type. Nevertheless, attractiveness goes a long way. Too Hot to Handle isn’t about love or relationships, it’s about hot attractive people trying not to hook up. Survivor doesn’t have to be in hot climates, but how else can viewers see everyone competing scantily dressed?
Now that we understand what a reality show is and what they’re looking for, we can start to discuss how to prepare to audition for a reality TV show.
How to prepare for your reality TV audition
The first step to preparing for a reality TV show is to start watching what’s out there. If you really want to be on Big Brother, look at the type of people and personalities they are putting on Big Brother. The second step is to go back to some of the criteria we listed above (strong opinions, big/bold personality, unique/attractive look). When you are submitting an audition for a reality TV show, you need to communicate that you can do these three things.
Below are a few ways to prepare for a reality TV show audition. Some of these things might seem strange, and you may wonder why these work, so we’ve included some scenarios and examples.
1. Exercise so you look good shirtless (for men) or in a bikini (for women)
This is strictly to appeal to the superficial nature of reality shows. Many modern reality shows are not about finding the love of your life; they’re about the drama between young hot people. Of course, I’m generalizing here, but this is definitely the trend in many new reality shows. Being attractive is always something that reality shows need. For some reality shows, being attractive might be the only thing you need. Think of Project Runway or The Bachelor.
2. Get really good (or really bad) at some skill.
Being either really good or really bad at something is another way you can prepare for reality shows. Cooking, driving, and athletics are all examples of skills that have been featured in reality shows. Exceptional skill ability/inability can be applicable in multiple ways.
Firstly, you can use poor skills as a way to distinguish yourself. Canada’s Worst Driver was a show all about finding the country’s worst driver. The Biggest Loser was a show all about people who struggle with eating and health. Half the fun of watching American Idol (and all the other similar shows) was seeing not just the amazing singers but the really bad ones too. Remember that reality shows are about drama and, if you are a terrible cook, they might want to choose you and put you in a position where you have to cook to create drama and conflict.
The second way this works is the opposite of the first: distinguishing yourself because you are really good at something. Top Chef, Cake Boss, and So You Think You Can Dance are all examples of shows that involve finding the best. What do you do better than anyone else? Get even better, and you might be ready for your next reality show audition.
The skills can also help you stand out even if those skills are not related to the show. For example, if you are on a show about losing weight but you can also juggle, that might help you to stand out. They’re looking for people who are interesting to watch, so if your skill makes you interesting to watch, that can be a plus for your reality show audition.
3. Be active in a subculture
The overlap between reality and documentary is also a very popular trend within reality TV. Subculture-specific shows are popular because people enjoy getting glimpses into how other people live. The Real Housewives, Game of Arms, and Love & Hip-Hop fit in this genre. If you have a special hobby, interest, etc., then this can give you an edge in reality show auditions related to those.
4. Work a specialized, slightly dangerous job
Some reality shows are job-specific, like Deadliest Catch, American Chopper, Cops, and Ice Road Truckers. These shows all follow very specific jobs that have a hint of danger. Having such a job may or may not lead to a reality show, but it can help. Also, if you find a show that has already been shown for your job, you can try to reach out to the show producers and let them know about who you are and how you’re a great fit for the show. In rare instances, reaching out might lead to you being featured or even to a spinoff if you are in a different location.
5. Be on the search for something (like love or the perfect cake)
Showing that you are on the search for something or looking forward to a life transition can help in reality show auditions because it can make it easier for them to craft suspense and an engaging side story.
Love, whether sincere or superficial, is at the core of many reality shows, such as The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, 90 Day Fiancé, The Circle, and Love Island. Additionally, unlike some of the other items above, the idea of being on the search for love is very broad and can be added to practically anything, so there are many opportunities. In other words, you could be in almost any kind of reality show but be the character on the search for love. From Ice Road Truckers to Survivor, a desperate romance always adds an extra element of interest and the potential for a side story. For example, 90 Day Fiancé has had several spinoffs highlighting certain characters like Big Ed. The reason? They are still on their search for love. One of the first breakout reality shows in the early 2000s was Family Business which, on the surface, was about a family-run adult entertainment business but was actually about the owner trying to find love with the stigma that is put on that industry.
The search doesn’t have to be about love. A search for anything can be interesting. People can be on the search for the perfect sandwich or the origin of pasta, etc. If you’re on the search or very curious about something, that could help you to be in a reality show. There are many reality shows where people are introduced with lines like, “I spent my whole life . . .” Think about Cake Boss, for example, which is really all about creating the perfect cake with people who are passionate about cakes. American Idol, when it first started off, was essentially a show about how Simon Cowell quit spending his whole life trying to find amazing singers and, instead of him searching, wanted to search to come to him. What are you passionate about? What can you add that will contribute an “I wonder what will happen to them next” feel to the show?
6. Create a hyper version of some aspect of your personality
If you magnify your pet peeves, or what you like, or your good habits, or your bad habits, the result may be a colorful character who might fit well in a reality show.
7. Start dressing distinctively and/or get a distinctive hairstyle
You can stand out due to your clothing and/or hairstyle. For example, maybe you wear all pink, or you wear tweed and bowties, or you dress like a biker. Or maybe your hair is blue. What kind of clothing/hair would get you second glances in a bus? That kind of clothing/hair might also get you extra consideration in a reality TV audition.
Getting into interaction-based shows
All The Real Housewives shows are essentially about arguments between big personalities, and there are many such reality shows where they look for arguments/confrontations to show. If you want to be part of such a show, let them know that you’re someone with strong opinions that won’t back down from an argument. Let them know that you have controversial opinions or maybe state some of those controversial opinions. Let them know that you are someone who loves to push other people’s buttons and get them mad. This doesn’t have to do with opinions as much as letting the casting people know that you can physically engage people. This doesn’t mean fighting physically, it means physically walking up to people being in other people’s bubbles and being someone who can confront the camera as well as the other people on the reality show. So that means being someone who can vent about their drama if they were talking to their best friend… but in a room alone to a camera person.
Another big part of reality shows is watching attractions, such as love triangle attraction, hesitant attraction, or being socially stimulated by someone but not physically and vice versa. It can be an advantage to let the people in casting know that you have a strong attraction to certain kinds of people, or that you have strong repulsion for certain kinds of people, that you fall in love easily or not at all, or that you’re a player. Quite literally, two huge reality shows in the mid-2000s were Keys to the VIP and The Pickup Artist, which were all about training people or putting people in competitions about creating attraction.
Getting into other genres of reality shows
Let’s say that the previous types are not the types of reality show you’re trying to get into; let’s say you’re after a reality show that is a bit more thoughtful, such as something on the Discovery Channel or HGTV, for example. You still need to show that you can create arguments/confrontations and communicate what you’re attracted by.
To show that you can create arguments, you can present strong opinions about different fields or processes. Are you a skeptical thinker who is sometimes shocked by people’s lack of critical thinking? Are you a believer in alien visitation? Are you a hot-headed chef? These are the kind of things, depending on the reality show, that you need to communicate, because this will mean that you’ll be able to have heated discussions with other cast members.
Confrontation, again, doesn’t necessarily mean fighting with other cast members but does mean confronting the camera. Being able to confront the viewing audience with evidence, with excitement, with passion, and with your point of view on something will make you an engaging person to watch.
Regarding attraction, you have to be able to communicate your likes and dislikes with passion to make your personality shine. The same holds true for the opposite: repulsion. You can think of what makes a charismatic, endearing, or exciting person, and you can think of non-physical concepts that affect whether or not you like something. When they see that it is easy for them to control your behavior via your specific likes and dislikes, it can make you look like a person who is easy to create an engaging reality show with.
The competition in reality show auditions
Another reason why reality shows aren’t necessarily “reality” is because many of the people who are on reality shows are people who are struggling actors. Or they are people who are models or represented by some sort of agency that submitted them for the reality show. These people are mixed in with people responding to Facebook posts from the general public. In many ways, this is just like the types of people who will respond to commercials where they’re not looking for actors specifically. Day-to-day people. For example, a reality show may release a casting call for people who are super fit and want to get even fitter, or for people who are super unfit and want to get in the best shape of their lives. There might be actors or models who fit this description, but they will be auditioning alongside day-to-day people who maybe saw the audition on a Facebook or Craigslist post.
How to find reality show auditions
To find reality show auditions, the first thing you have to do is watch the start and end credits for a variety of reality shows. Usually, they will have the casting director’s name either at the beginning or the end of the show, then all we have to do is find the casting director’s agency. A word of caution here: instead of going on Facebook and trying to contact the casting director personally, it’s better if you find their agency’s Facebook page or website and contact them through professional channels.
Another strategy you can use is similar but, instead of finding the casting people, you can find the production company and reach out to them through professional channels (like their corporate email or front desk phone number). You can also follow the production companies on social media to see if they ever post auditions.
The next strategy you can use is to go on Facebook, search for casting agencies, filter the results by pages, and then start following lots of different small casting agencies, especially ones that do lots of commercials because they will typically also have the auditions for reality shows. The reason for this is that lots of reality shows, as well as commercials, tend to be non-union. Would they all post reality show auditions all the time? No, but I’ve found few auditions with this method. Just a note that Facebook, by default, doesn’t show everything a page posts, so make sure that when you follow the page you select the action to see all the posts. That way you don’t have to worry about missing an audition posting.
Life after reality TV
Reality shows might seem like a great way into the acting industry but remember that, even though reality shows are a type of acting, being in reality shows does not always lead to other opportunities. It’s a lot like doing a commercial: just because you book one doesn’t mean you’re going to book more. Even if you book several, it might not necessarily give you an advantage when trying to work in film and television.
It’s really important to remember that, if your goal is to be a working actor and not just famous, reality shows might not be the best choice for you. In many ways, the world of reality TV and the world of acting for film and television are very different. Just ask yourself this: where are you seeing reality shows and where are you seeing really good TV? Chances are reality shows are on cable TV while all the thought-provoking TV shows are typically and more and more often on streaming services. Do you see a lot of overlap between people on reality shows and people in dramas or comedies on Netflix? That, by itself, can tell you something.
Some people don’t necessarily want to be actors, they just want to be on a reality TV show and, hopefully, this article will help you with that. However, if you’re looking to become an actor, a reality TV show opportunity might not always lead you to the success you want. If you’re just looking to be famous though, at least for a little while, or if you’re looking for a little bit of adventure, a reality show might be just what you need.
