The Californer - As Awards Season Arrives, Casting Director Shares How Stars Really Get Their Breaks

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Veteran Hollywood casting director Darya Balyura reveals behind-the-scenes truths of auditions that launch careers — and captures them in her new book, The Actor's Guide to Getting Cast in Hollywood*

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Californer -- Every Awards Season, audiences see the glamour: the red carpet, the golden statues, the tearful speeches. What they don't see are the auditions — the nerve-wracking, high-stakes moments in tiny rooms where careers begin.

For some of today's biggest stars, those rooms were the proving ground. Jennifer Lawrence was cast in Winter's Boneafter an audition that was so raw and lived-in she seemed to walk straight out of the Ozarks. Matthew McConaughey's now-famous "alright, alright, alright" was born in a casting session that showed producers his effortless charisma. Millie Bobby Brown was nearly overlooked before her audition for Stranger Things left the entire casting team in silence.

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Veteran casting director Darya Balyura knows these moments because she's spent her career shaping them. Having cast more than 100 television and film productions — including Switched at Birth (Freeform) and Being Human (SYFY) — she's seen the quiet auditions that turned unknowns into stars and the performances that lit up a room.

Now, as the entertainment world celebrates performances on its biggest stage, Balyura is reminding actors that the real breakthroughs happen long before the award is in hand. Her new book, The Actor's Guide to Getting Cast in Hollywood: Insider Secrets for Landing Film and TV Roles (Kallisti Publishing, Sept. 8, 2025), pulls back the curtain on what casting directors see, what they remember, and why some auditions change lives.

"Actors dream about being on stage with a trophy," says Balyura. "But every single one of those journeys began in the audition room. Understanding how to own that moment is the real key."

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The book has already reached #1 on Amazon in presales, signaling a hunger among actors to learn the unspoken rules of the industry.

Kallisti Publishing will release the book worldwide on September 8, 2025.

For more information or to preorder, visit ReadKP.com/HollywoodDream.

About Kallisti Publishing, Inc.
Founded in 2000 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Kallisti Publishing produces personal development and business books designed to expand the mind, generate ideas, and grow careers. With bestselling titles and a growing roster of distinguished authors, Kallisti Publishing continues its mission: Books You Need to Succeed. Learn more at ReadKP.com.