I had a role in 'Crossroads' when I was about 21, and then I went on to perform in 'Small Change' and then 'Piaf' in the Donmar Warehouse, London, and it was when I was there that some casting directors spotted me.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My first job was in pantomime; I was a chorus girl in 'Dick Whittington' at 16. I got the part by ringing the director daily to see if anyone had dropped out, and it paid off eventually, when I was cast as a rat!
I used to do a Saturday drama group called Young Blood Theatre Company with school-friends in west London - nothing to do with my mum and dad. A casting director came to pick people out for a new BBC children's series called 'MI High.' She picked me, I auditioned, and I got the job.
I studied at Guildhall and did the acting course, but because I could sing a bit, I kept being cast in musicals.
When I was 13 years old, a professional theater company in my town needed a kid actor. I auditioned, and I got the part, so for just a few weeks I became a member of the company and I met some professional actors.
My dad became a soap opera actor, and I was an extra in a skating rink scene on the soap. I didn't audition. It was nepotism all the way.
On the day of the audition for 'Sullivan and Son,' I had three other auditions all around Los Angeles. It was so hectic. I remember changing in my car before I went in to read.
I grew up performing in theatre.
I randomly went to a casting session in my hometown in North Carolina, and the casting director introduced me to my manager. I really lucked into it!
I got dared to audition for a play by my best friend Paul. He got cast in 'Hamlet,' and I got cast in 'Prelude to a Kiss,' and that changed everything.
I went for endless auditions for tiny parts in obscure plays, and never got one job until I was in 'Four Weddings'.