Everyone was talking about the BBC’s tense thriller The Night Manager in 2016, and what could be more suspenseful than a decade-long wait for a sequel? The second series, airing in 2026, sees Tom Hiddleston return as the hotel worker turned secret government agent investigating illegal arms sales. He still smoulders, looks angsty, and is borderline obsessed with the dashing but dastardly Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie).
Season 3 has already been greenlit, but is yet to be filmed. That means there may be an opportunity to join the high-octane, top-tier production. So buckle up Hiddlestoners – it’s time to find out how to get cast on The Night Manager.
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Based on John Le Carré’s 1993 novel of the same name, The Night Manager follows the story of former soldier Jonathan Pine as he’s recruited by MI6 spy runner Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to help bring down arms dealer and all-round nasty chap Richard Roper.
In the second series, Roper is dead and Pine is quietly working the surveillance nightshift in London. That dull scenario clearly can’t last, and soon Pine is off to Colombia to investigate a dodgy businessman played by Diego Calva. Filling out the cast is top talent including Indira Varma, Hayley Squires, Noah Jupe, and Camila Morrone.
Jina Jay was the casting director for Series 1 and 2, so we imagine Series 3 will be in her court too. She also cast Black Mirror and Dune, and has worked with directors including Wes Anderson and Park Chan-Wook. That is to say, through being on her radar, you could end up landing some seriously exciting roles.
Jay told Deadline Le Carré’s work demands “the greatest character actors,” and she told the National Film and Television School that she’s very respectful of what actors do and what they put themselves through to bag a role. “A lot of what we do is very private…but that’s a very vulnerable space for actors that are auditioning, because 9 out of 10 actors aren’t getting that job and also they are giving of themselves.”
She added that when it comes to compiling a CV as an actor, there’s one thing she always looks out for. “If you’ve got reasonable, decent theatre credits, put them down,” she says. “They put commercials down rather than theatre credits, and I value theatre a lot in terms of a body of work experience for an actor.”
Hiddleston shared his formative audition experiences with BAFTA, revealing how he found his early career and its inevitable rejections very “solitary.” “You can get very despondent and the challenge is to find a way of negotiating that sense of rejection, that sense of failure without eroding your sense of self,” he says. “Have that faith in yourself.”
Season 1 star Elizabeth Debicki told The Mirror about her audition nerves and how she copes. “There are many psychological games that you can play, but I just think you have to breathe!” she says. “You want to avoid that emotional roller coaster if you can. I’m the type of person who can take a breath at 6 p.m. and think, ‘Oh, my God, I think that’s the first one I’ve taken all day!’”
“I also try to form a little plan – sort of like when you see an ex,” she says. “Last year when I had to audition, it was utter terror, but I had a good plan and it really helped. The more you invest in something, the more you care and the more emotional it is. I don’t think you can avoid that.”
For more pro tips on how to prepare for a big audition, check out the following guides: