There is a right way and a wrong way to audition for one of the hottest (in both senses of the word) streaming series out there.

The wrong way? Making a soft-corn home movie and emailing it to Bridgerton casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry.

Hendry, who has been responsible for casting for the show since its 2020 debut, said during a recent episode of the Should I Delete That? podcast that her inbox runneth over with steamy adult content.

“It’s every day … I get the most unbelievable videos, unsolicited,” Hendry told the podcast’s hosts, Alex Light and Em Clarkson. “It’s sex basically, it’s not actual sex but it’s quite punchy. It’s not nudey pictures, but not far off.”

Hendry said that many of these wannabe actors are gunning for the part of Sophie Beckett, who was the main love interest for Benedict Bridgerton in the novels that are the basis for the series. Producers have not confirmed if that role exists in the upcoming fourth season.

Though the role has not been confirmed, Collider reported last month that Netflix put out a casting call looking for someone to fill a “major recurring role” and a “character roughly between 24-30 years old described as plucky, endlessly resourceful, and having trouble trusting others.”

The character, who was given the name of Emily, is also scripted as an East Asian female and there was a note about the job involving nudity and scenes of a sexual nature. The producers often use such code names to keep spoilery character details under wraps for as long as possible.

According to Hendry, these audition emails have her inbox at “90% full,” so even if these home movies qualified as proper audition tapes, the chances of one personal porno being selected above all the others is quite slim.

If you still wish to audition, Hendry does encourage taping your own efforts, but she has some tips (none of which involve getting naked.) In this article from Backstage.com, she said,

• “I don’t like white backgrounds. They don’t make you look as good. You want a blue or a gray, and you want to light yourself.” 
• “Make sure that your sound is really good, and have your readers stand a little bit away from the camera, because you want to just hear them. Sometimes readers are terrible, and it genuinely does distract. Quite often, directors will watch with headphones on, and they’ll have really good headphones that pick up all the extra noise. It doesn’t take much for things to annoy people.”
• “Attempt to perfect your self-tape, but don’t think about it too much.”

The Backstage article is full of more information on how to become a star, not just for Bridgerton, but on Netflix in general. There’s a page for auditions you can peruse, but keep in mind that certain vital information like the show’s title or the character’s name may be coded or omitted, so prepare to jump to conclusions!