An Actor's Alphabet cover art

An Actor's Alphabet

An A to Z of Some Stuff I've Learnt and Some Stuff I'm Still Learning

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

An Actor's Alphabet

By: Julie Hesmondhalgh
Narrated by: Julie Hesmondhalgh
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £11.99

Buy Now for £11.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

In this candid and empowering A to Z of being an actor, Julie Hesmondhalgh draws on her decades of experience on-stage and screen, including in massively popular television shows such as Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Coronation Street–to lift the lid on the realities of life in today's industry, and show you how to navigate it.

She shares practical advice on preparing for roles (don't be afraid of looking like a jerk), managing the ups and downs of your career (and how to be out of work without losing your mind), dealing with failure (and success), not constantly comparing yourself to others (bloody hard, but try), looking after your mental health, and the power of knowing when to say "no".

Passionate about the arts, she makes a compelling case for their importance to society, but also calls out the industry on where it continues to fall short–including a clear-eyed assessment of what needs to change to make it safer, healthier, more accessible, and inclusive.

Written with refreshing honesty and self-deprecating humour, An Actor's Alphabet is an audiobook for anyone who dreams of becoming an actor, wants to be a better one, or just wants to learn what being one is really like.

©2022 Nick Hern Book (P)2022 Nick Hern Books Acting & Auditioning Career Success Employment Entertainment & Performing Arts Career Entertainment Inspiring Celebrity

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Lessons from a Clown cover art
Blank - Why It's Fine to Falter and Fail, and How to Pick Yourself Up Again cover art
Secrets of Screen Acting cover art
Glow in the Dark cover art
Main Character Energy cover art
Take Care cover art
The Actor's Art and Craft cover art
The Actor's Life cover art
Huddle cover art
Too Much cover art
Directing Actors cover art
The Yes Woman cover art
Audition cover art
Tough Crowd cover art
Access Accents cover art
And Then We Grew Up cover art

Critic reviews

"Like its author, this book is brimming with wisdom, intelligence, empathy and humanity... An absolute must!" (Maxine Peake)

"A generous gift to actors, full of honesty, hope and wit. There is loads of tangible advice, not just for acting, but for life." (Anna Jordan)
All stars
Most relevant
Loved the humour, anecdotes and all round honesty. Julie really shares the truth of the industry from a compassionate but practical point of view. I learned a lot, mainly how to manage my expectations, expenses and relationships within the industry! And most importantly, have fun! Thank you Julie!

A must read for any professional actor!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a book to kick off the new year. Highly recommend to any actor at any stage in their career. Julie is one of the best.

Glorious

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved listening to Julie. Nothing to do with acting apart from thoroughly enjoying my Am Dram few years back. But this book applies to folk of all walks of life.
Love your accent Julie. Makes good listening. You are pure salt of the earth. But I consider so many northerners to be just that. Comforting accent & great humour.

Interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am a 50 year old man, and only recently, (4 years) by chance got into acting. For the first time in my entire life I had found something fulfilling, something that I truly love doing and now, each day I continue to try and be a better actor. At the moment I work as a SA, and I have enrolled with the amazing Jim Cartwright, to help me learn and grow. I am also an active member of Wigan Little Theatre. My goal is to work as a professional actor, and so I'm taking in as much information as I can to help me. Julies book has completely blown me away, and I've discovered that I have a few things in common with her, which is nice. I found it so helpful and inspiring, and I'll definitely be listening to it again, and again. I absolutely love this book.

Very informative and educational, brilliant 😁

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Julie once again has produced a book which is insightful and helpful, it doesn’t matter if you’re an actor or anyone with an ambition especially in the creative arts. I’m a writer and it gave me motivation to crack on

Good for anyone in the creative industries

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews