Someone posted on r/acting today asking if an email they got was legitimate. The email invited them to audition for a “confidential television series.” It asked for a runway walk video, two contrasting monologues about modeling, and gave them about 48 hours to submit. The sender’s name was real. Avy Kaufman. She cast The Sixth Sense, Lincoln, Call Me By Your Name. One of the most respected casting directors working.

The email was not from her. Not even close.

Here is how I know, and how you can spot these every time.

Casting Directors Do Not Cold Email Actors

They go through your representation. If you have an agent or a manager, that is the door. Breakdowns get released to reps. Reps submit their clients. Casting reviews the submissions and asks for tapes or in-person reads from the people they want to see. The actor never sees the email. The actor sees an audition request from their agent that says here is the project, here are the sides, here is the deadline, send your tape back to me by X.

If a casting director somehow does reach an unrepresented actor directly, it is because they saw that actor in something specific and tracked them down. It is targeted. It is personal. It references the work they saw you in. It does not arrive as a generic invitation with a 48-hour clock and a runway walk requirement.

Real Projects At This Level Do Not Get Posted Publicly

Not on Actors Access. Not on Backstage. Not on Casting Networks. And absolutely not on Facebook groups or Instagram comments. When a project is operating at the tier where Avy Kaufman would be involved, the breakdown is restricted. It goes to a curated list of agencies and management companies. Sometimes the role description is so vague that even the reps cannot tell you what show it is until you book the room.

The bigger the project, the quieter the casting process. That is the rule.

If you are seeing a casting call for a “confidential network series” floating around social media, you are looking at one of three things. A scam. A student film pretending to be more than it is. Or a low-budget project that is not what it claims.

The Red Flags in This Specific Email

The runway walk plus modeling monologues combo is the tell. That is not how legitimate auditions work. Legitimate auditions ask for sides from the actual script. The casting team sends you pages, you record the scene, you send it back. You do not get asked to perform generic content about an industry. That request exists to harvest video of you that can be used elsewhere, or to filter for a specific physical type the sender wants for reasons that have nothing to do with a TV show.

The 48-hour deadline is another flag. Urgency is a manipulation tactic. Real auditions have tight turnarounds sometimes, but the urgency is built into the production calendar, not manufactured to keep you from thinking.

The “confidential nature of the project” line is also a tell. It is trying to explain why there is no production company, no project name, no script, no character description. In reality, even confidential projects have a code name, a redacted breakdown, and an NDA process handled through your reps.

And the upload-to-your-personal-Google-Drive instruction. That puts a video of you, your face, your voice, in the hands of someone whose identity you cannot verify. Think about what that footage could be used for. Then think about it again.

What To Do If You Get One of These

Forward it to your reps if you have them. They will tell you immediately whether it is real. If you do not have reps, search the casting director’s actual office and email them through their public channels to verify. Avy Kaufman has a real office. A real assistant. They will tell you in one sentence whether the email is theirs.

Do not respond to the email. Do not click links. Do not send video. Do not send headshots. Do not engage at all.

The acting business is hard enough without this. Protect your image, your time, and your information. If something arrives that feels off, it is off. The legitimate version of this industry is slower, quieter, and runs through the people who already represent you.