Casting calls in Los Angeles: where real roles are posted, what each site costs and how to spot scams

Most real casting calls in Los Angeles are posted on a handful of casting platforms: Actors Access and Casting Networks for film, TV and commercials, Casting Frontier and Backstage as further boards, and Central Casting for background (extra) work. You can create a free profile on each of the first three, but self-submitting to paid roles on Casting Networks and Casting Frontier takes a paid plan, and a free Actors Access submission sends only your name and résumé.

If you searched "casting calls near me" from LA, this guide covers how a role travels from a casting director to you, what each site costs as of October 2026, how to sign up for background work, how theater auditions differ, and the red flags that separate a real casting call from a scam. Prices come from each platform's own help pages, and they change, so check before you pay.

A casting call in the industry is usually a breakdown: a short summary of a project that Breakdown Services describes as including character descriptions, key team members, location, start dates, pay rate, union affiliation and special notes (Breakdown Services). The casting director decides where it goes.

• To agents and managers only. Some breakdowns are released only on Breakdown Express, which agents and managers use to submit their clients. Actors without representation never see these (Breakdown Services).
• To actors directly. Others are posted on Actors Access, where any actor with a profile can read them and decide whether to submit. Breakdown Services says it posts over 97% of the scripted content that needs actors in North America, across both routes (Breakdown Services).
• To a platform's own board. Casting Networks posts roles on its Casting Billboard and Casting Frontier on its Direct Submit Board; both let actors submit themselves, mostly on paid plans (Casting Networks, Casting Frontier).

What this means in practice: without an agent you only see the roles casting chose to post for actors, so treat self-submission as the place to build first credits, and those credits as what you later show an agent. Our guide on how to get an acting agent covers that next step.

Start with one or two, not all of them. Each entry gives what the free tier allows and the paid price published on the platform's help pages when we checked.

• Actors Access (Breakdown Services). The profile is free and includes 2 headshots, 1 SlateShot, your resume, size card and special skills, role match alerts and Eco Cast self-tape invitations. Without a paid plan you can still submit for free with your name and résumé (see the Actors Access guide). Actors Access PLUS costs $68 a year or $9.99 a month and allows unlimited submissions to Actors Access breakdowns; SAG-AFTRA members get 20% off the annual plan. Extra media costs more and performance media is not included in either plan (Breakdown Services).
• Casting Networks. The free plan includes a profile, resume, 2 photos, 1 video and 1 audio file, saved searches with notifications, and answering audition requests your agent sets up, but "Submitting to Casting Billboard requires a Premium Membership." Premium costs $29.99 a month or $299.90 a year in the US. New accounts start a Premium trial that asks for payment details up front, so cancel before it ends if you only want the free plan (Casting Networks).
• Casting Frontier. The free Basic plan lets you self-submit, but only to non-paying jobs on its Direct Submit Board. Premium ($15.99 a month or $149.99 a year) opens every role on that board; Premium Plus is $20.99 a month or $199.99 a year (Casting Frontier).
• Backstage. A casting site that began as a magazine in 1960 and posts casting calls; membership is paid (Wrapbook). Check its current plans on its own site.
• Central Casting. The large background-casting company for film, TV and commercials; Wrapbook lists it as free to join (Wrapbook). Details in the next section.
• Playbill's jobs board for theater, which Wrapbook describes as free to use but without a submission portal, and iActor, SAG-AFTRA's casting platform for members at no extra fee (Wrapbook).

A sensible starting setup for a new LA actor: a free Actors Access profile with role match alerts, a free Casting Networks profile with saved searches, and Central Casting if you want set experience. Upgrade the one that keeps showing you roles you fit.

Background roles (extras) are cast differently from speaking roles: casting staff search a database of registered people by look and availability, then message the ones who fit. Central Casting's Los Angeles sign-up says you must be legally authorized to work in the US, no experience is needed, union and non-union performers are both welcome, and a parent or guardian must create and manage the account for anyone under 18 (Central Casting).

1. Complete the online sign-up with accurate sizes and appearance details, a current headshot and a full-body photo, and e-sign the forms. In California, New York and Georgia you also fill out a Form I-9 during sign-up (Central Casting).
2. Add photos that widen your range: casual, business and formal looks, one or two in unique costumes, and any vehicles you are willing to bring. Update them when your look or sizes change (Central Casting).
3. Answer every availability inquiry, sent by email and text, even with a no. Central Casting says casting staff "prefer you say no rather than not responding at all," and that replying unavailable does not affect future messages (Central Casting).
4. Check the Open Roles page for unusual looks and special skills, and submit exactly as instructed (Central Casting).
5. Accept the booking offer. You are only booked once you accept it, and booking details usually arrive late in the evening before the work day (Central Casting).

For pay, vouchers and set rules, see how to become a background actor.

Stage roles come through other channels: Playbill's jobs board (free, but with no submission portal), Backstage, and each theater's own site (Wrapbook). Union productions hold Equity Principal Auditions (EPAs) and Equity Chorus Calls (ECCs), which are run for Actors' Equity members first.

Non-members can still go. An Actor Aesthetic explainer on Equity's procedures says non-Equity actors are welcome but seen only when time allows, after every Equity member and Equity Membership Candidate on the monitor's lists, and not at all if the call is closed to non-members at the start time (Actor Aesthetic). Bring a headshot and resume and expect to wait. Equity's Open Access route lets actors with professional theater work in its jurisdiction join, with an initial payment of at least $600 due with the application (Actors' Equity). For what Equity contracts pay, see Broadway actor pay.

Casting can only open so many submissions, so make each one count. Before you click submit, check each part of the breakdown Breakdown Services says it contains (Breakdown Services):

• Character description. Could you be cast in this part tomorrow, by age range and type, without explaining yourself? If not, skip it.
• Union affiliation. Note whether the project is SAG-AFTRA or non-union and submit where your status fits; the acting resume guide explains how to state yours.
• Location and dates. Make sure you can get to the location and work every listed date, including any callback date. If a role is cast as local hire, submit only if you really live in the area; the moving to LA guide explains why.
• Pay rate. Know what you are agreeing to before you submit, whether the role is paid, deferred or unpaid.
• Special notes. Self-tape deadlines, skills such as driving or a language, and whether sides will be sent. Never submit for a skill you do not have.

On these sites your submission is your profile, so lead with the photo and keep your free media slots for your best work: Actors Access includes 2 headshots and Casting Networks 2 photos on free plans (Breakdown Services, Casting Networks).

• Headshot that matches the role. A clear, current photo that looks like you on a good day. The actor headshots guide covers what casting looks for and each site's photo sizes.
• A clean resume. Even with only class credits, a well-formatted one-page resume beats a padded one. Build it free with the acting resume builder and read the acting resume guide.
• A short, specific note when the site allows one: a relevant skill or a real connection to the material, not a paragraph about your passion.
• Self-tape readiness. An audition can arrive as a self-tape request (Actors Access sends these through Eco Cast), often with a short deadline. Have a backdrop, light and reader lined up before you start submitting. The on-camera and self-tape classes guide explains what LA classes teach.
• A monologue in your pocket for open calls and theater: find one on Offbook, which hosts monologue and script text.

Fake casting calls are aimed at people eager for a first break. The Federal Trade Commission's warnings about talent scams and job scams point to the same patterns (FTC, modeling scams, FTC, job scams):

• They ask you to pay for photos, a test shoot or to "secure your spot." The FTC says any agency asking for money to represent you is a scam, and that honest employers never charge applicants to get hired.
• They guarantee work or promise a big salary. There are never guarantees in this business.
• You must use their photographer or their staff for photos or auditions. You should be able to hire your own.
• They rush you to sign. A good offer today is still good tomorrow; get every promise in writing.
• They dictate how you pay: cash, money order, gift cards, wire transfer or cryptocurrency are warning signs.
• They send you a check and ask you to keep part and send the rest on. The check bounces and you owe your bank the full amount.
• No one has heard of them. Search the company name with "scam" or "complaint" and ask for clients you can contact.

California law adds hard rules. Anyone arranging employment for an artist must hold a talent agency license from the Labor Commissioner, and you can search licensed agencies in the DIR license databases (California DIR). Labor Code section 1700.40(a) says no talent agency may collect a registration fee from an artist (California DIR). Paid workshops that imply the fee buys an audition are covered in our casting workshops guide.

If you paid and got nothing, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and act quickly, because payments get harder to recover over time (FTC). For questions about a California talent agency license, contact the Labor Commissioner's talent unit at Talent@dir.ca.gov or 510-285-3397 (California DIR).

1. Set alerts once. Turn on role match alerts in Actors Access and saved-search notifications in Casting Networks so the right breakdowns come to you (Breakdown Services, Casting Networks).
2. Check every day. A short daily look at new breakdowns lets you submit while a role is fresh.
3. Keep a log of every submission: project, role, casting office, date, result. After a month it shows which sites and role types actually call you in.
4. Reply to everything within hours, including a polite no, the habit Central Casting asks of background performers (Central Casting).
5. Keep training between auditions. An audition prep class or a scene study class keeps you ready for the call. Ask whether you can audit a class before you enroll, and the Price Index shows what classes cost. If auditions make you freeze, read our stage fright guide.