How to Get Into Acting With TV Actor Bill Blackwood

In Georgie and Pierce’s first interview with character actor Bill Blackwood, they hope to provide you with a plethora of insights into the acting world and how to secure your place in it. Based in The North of England, Bill is a proud Yorkshireman who was born and bred in God’s Own Country. You will have seen or heard him in a wide variety of television, film and radio projects including BBC’s Silent Witness and Doctors.  You may even have caught him on stage! He has bases in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Manchester, London, Birmingham and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of BBC Class Act, a member of Profile Performers and a proud Equity member.

Bill, Georgie and Pierce talk about Bill’s current work, his beginning in acting, training, low budget independent film work, the nature of casting and auditions, learning your lines and the ongoing changes in inclusivity in the acting world. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Bill is currently working in the Channel 4 and STV series Screw, a prison drama.
• Before embarking in the police service, Bill was a young actor and had a good basis for his current career.
• Bill was not classically trained but he feels the only advantage of doing so would be ready made contacts. 
• When entering the casting process, if you find yourself called to audition you can be reassured that the casting director has already whittled down the applicants to those they feel can fit the part. 
• When learning dialogue there are so many ways, find the way that works for you and you are comfortable with.
• Inclusivity is improving in the acting industry and there are not as many blocks in place based on race, gender, class and disability.  

BEST MOMENTS

‘Inside this wonderful building that was built in the 1930’s, Channel 4 and Scottish Television built the entire three storeys of a prison wing. So what is absolutely realistic on TV is actually a film set.’ - Bill 

‘You started acting earlier in life before you joined the police force when you were 22 I think I saw. Isn’t it interesting how it always seems to come back to acting.’ – Pierce  

‘Independent film work is real acting. If you look at the BAFTA nominations for film this year you will find a number of those films have been produced independently on a low budget.’ – Bill

‘My assumption is if I’ve not heard anything, in fact I’ve forgotten about the job nine times out of ten after I’ve auditioned for it…I don’t spend time worrying about not hearing whether I’ve booked a job or not. I move on and do the next audition.’ – Bill  

‘For me it starts with a character and I need to know what the character is, I need to know what the character has done, I need to have a backstory for a character, I need to know what their likes and dislikes are and, obviously, having read the full script more than once, I never read a script just once.’ – Bill 

‘I was fortunate enough in 2018 to audition into a thing called Class Act, which was a BBC three day workshop program that allowed me to work one to one with a well known TV director and develop my skills as an actor.’ - Bill

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://chat.whatsapp.com/LUWz5ZlIg0sH0F27Zs7Cnq

https://www.actorswarehouse.co.uk/

https://Www.instagram.com/Actorswarehouse/

https://Twitter.com/Weareacting/ 

 ABOUT THE HOSTS

Georgie King and Pierce Connelly are a couple and business partners with experience in TV, film and theatre. Co-founders of The Acting Warehouse, an organisation dedicate