With casting now open for Biggest Loser 11, everyone wants to know what they can do to make it all the way to the ranch. There’s no one better to get those answers from than Holland Striplin. She’s been the casting director for Biggest Loser since season five. 
You can currently submit a home video and application for season 11, or meet Holland and her casting crew in a number of cities across the U.S. (tour schedule is pending).
If you’ve got at least 100 pounds to lose, then see what Holland says about taking your chance to be cast on Biggest Loser.
What should people bring to a biggest loser audition? What shouldn’t they bring?
They should bring a non-returnable photo with them. We will have much shorter applications for them to fill out so they do not need the one printed off of our website. If they move forward in the process then we will have them fill that one out later. They should be ready to show their true personalities and tell us their opinions. They could possibly be waiting in line for a while so they need to be prepared by bringing healthy snacks, sunblock, a chair to sit in and plenty of water.
Please do NOT wear costumes or have a gimmick. If you aren’t going to wear the costume on the show then we don’t want to see you in it at the casting call. Be yourself. We want to see YOU and not some cartoon character. BL shirts are perfectly fine or “pick us” shirts, etc.
Will the casting tour schedule change at all this time? It seems like you guys always hit the same places.
We haven’t finalized the cities or dates yet, but we always like to surprise everyone with at least a couple of new cities. The cities and venues will be announced in the next few weeks. We hit the road in mid-July.
How long does it take for people to find out they are on the show?
We start casting in late June and we won’t know our cast until probably mid-September. A lot of people ask us “how long until I know if I’m at least moving forward in the process?”. There is no definite answer for this, but in most cases you would know within two weeks after your one-on-one interview if you are moving forward because you would receive emails or phone calls from us asking for more information or more home footage, etc. However, if you send in a video it’s much harder to answer this because we may watch it 3 days after you send it and we may watch it 4 weeks after you send it…depending on how many videos we have to watch, etc. Rest assured though, it will be watched. We usually announce on our Twitter page, Facebook pages, etc. once we have notified all the finalists.
How many applicants do you expect for season 11 and how many spots do you have to fill?
It’s hard to say for sure but generally speaking we don’t have as many people apply when the show is not airing. That’s why the casting team is going to work extra hard to try to get the word out to the public before we get to each city. We need everyone’s help…businesses, city officials, schools, word of mouth, etc. We also want everyone to realize that just because we aren’t coming to your city doesn’t mean you don’t have as good of a chance. We want those people to send us a video! We watch every single video that comes to our office!! We want everyone that has always thought “they’ll never pick me so I’m not going to apply” to realize that every person on the show thought the same thing before they were cast. I have been telling people “We are looking for people just LIKE YOU, so WHY NOT YOU?!”.
Is there any advantage to attending a casting call over submitting a paper application and video?
We want people to understand that you can do either one and still make it on the show. Each season we have people make it on the show that were at casting calls and we have people that make it on the show that sent in a home video.
We love meeting people in person because we can ask them specific questions about themselves and their lives and really see their personalities, so attending casting calls and meeting us in person is great. It’s also a really positive experience for everyone involved. Most people make new friends, form support groups and even make plans to workout together and lose weight on their own if the show doesn’t happen for them, so attend a casting call if you can.
On the flip side of that… we also love watching the videos that come in because we love seeing people at home in their own environment where they are comfortable… we can really see them interacting with their families, showing us their hobbies, their jobs, their struggles because of their weight, and showing them being goofy instead of being nervous in front of us.
This season, we are encouraging people to try to send in their videos before we go on the road in mid-July so that if we have interest in you then we can have you meet us in the casting call city near you. But if you don’t get them to us before we leave then please make sure you attend a casting call OR send a video to us anytime before the deadline because some of our team members will be watching them while we are gone on the road and we will be watching them for several weeks upon our return.
I guess the answer to your question is no, there is no advantage for one or the other.
We very much look forward to seeing lots of smiling faces this season!! Good Luck Everyone!
Get more info about Biggest Loser 11 Casting.