How I landed yet another role in a major UK ad campaign

Hello guys. As you know, I am about to go to Hungary to film an ad - I am incredibly excited of course as I love these projects. Yes you work very hard, but the work is very well paid and you're usually treated very well on such projects. I am currently recovering from flu symptoms (congested head, headache, sore throat, runny nose), I am not completely well yet but am on the mend. I was actually pretty sick when I was filming in Germany, so I certainly hope to be well enough for the challenging schedule that lies ahead for me in Hungary. I'm sure some of you are well aware that I've appeared in many ads before as an actor/model, I am going to do a chronological diary-type record of this crazy experience which has defined my month of July. From beginning to end, it takes a month in total but let me lay it out for you chronologically so you can see. This month has been such  a roller coaster, ending with this incredible trip.

1 July: I receive an email from my agent, telling me to prepare for a major audition for this ad campaign. This is for a famous brand in the UK which has spent a lot of money creating quite iconic, memorable, quirky, funny ads. They have a big budget and their previous ads have involved some famous celebrities. It would be a great honour to be featured in one of their ads - needless to say, it is also very well paid work. I was emailed a casting brief as well as a video of a dance routine I have to learn. I start preparing myself or the audition. I tell one of my best friends Mel about the audition as she's Hungarian and if I get the part, I would go to Budapest for the shoot. She said, "I really want you to get this. You totally deserve this, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you, I'm crossing everything for you."

1 to 4 July: I practice the dance routine a little, but probably not enough.

5 July: I go to the first audition, held at Pineapple Studios in Covent Garden. I didn't actually do that well and had messed up the dance routine. I remember leaving the studio feeling quite frustrated and disappointed with myself. I knew I should have practiced more, I kept telling myself. You know that feeling when you did badly in an exam, when you feel you should have studied more to get a better result? Yeah. That feeling sucks.

6 July: I receive an email from my agent telling me that I actually made it through the first round of the audition and that I have to go back for round two - this time I have to rehearse the dance routine till it is absolutely perfect. I couldn't believe it. I confessed to her that my first audition was awful and I messed up. She said, "well, you have another chance: it is redemption time. Practice loads, you have a few days, then go back and show them what you're made of."

Auditions can be very stressful.

Between 6 - 13 July: I practice that dance routine at least one hour a day till it is perfect. On some days, I practice three to four hours. I dance till my legs ached from the lactic acid and then continued dancing till I could do the routine in my sleep. I was going to do whatever it takes to excel at that audition-recall.

13 July: I return to Pineapple Studios on a particularly stressful day when everything else in my life seems to be falling apart and I was feeling miserable. I even answered my phone whilst climbing the stairs at Pineapple and got even more bad news. I thought, "damnit, I need some good news in my life, even if I don't get the part, I wanna go in there and do the audition of my life and make this is a mind over matter triumph for me." I did just that, I went in there and did the routine twice for them flawlessly. I didn't put a foot wrong, it couldn't have been more perfect. It was my Billy Elliot moment. As I finished, I picked up my bag, went into the toilet downstairs and cried there, feeling so emotionally overwhelmed that I had done one of the best auditions of my life on a day when I thought I would have totally fallen apart emotionally. I then walked out of Pineapple Studios into the sunshine, thinking, "well if I could cope with that today, I can deal with any shit life wants to throw at me, bring it on bitches!" I walked out into Covent Garden with my head held high, with a new found confidence in myself. That confidence was not so much based on my ability as a dancer, but my ability to cope with the shit that life wants to throw at me.

14 July: I didn't hear back, I presume I didn't get the part but I was happy enough to have done a good audition under those circumstances. Mel keeps telling me not to give up hope.

15 July: I got two emails from my agent, one telling me I had a heavy pencil, then the next email merely said, "make that a very heavy pencil." I called them up and said, "please tell me what that means." I was told, "a very heavy pencil means that you probably got the part, but they are just confirming the other members of the cast to make sure that they have created the right ensemble for the project and you won't know for sure until the casting is 100% complete on Monday. Just chill for now and relax, okay? For we won't have more information till then." This was on a Friday evening and I was left waiting all weekend. I tell Mel and she can't believe we have to wait till Monday. Oh the torture.

I have been in this industry for 12 years.

18 July: I start checking my phone every few moments from 9 am. Finally at 11:30 am, my agent calls me to tell me that I got the part. I scream and yell in disbelief and cried again. I then called my buddy Hungarian Mel and told her that I was going to Hungary. We then both scream and cry on the phone. Both she and I have been through rough patches lately and we just needed something to celebrate about. I then start telling all my friends that I am going to Hungary as it finally sinks in. Not only is this so well paid I don't have to worry about money for the next couple of months - it is also extremely reassuring to know that at the age of 40, I can still get work as a commercial dancer/actor.

20 July: We had our first rehearsal at Pineapple Studios - we were there from 9 am to 6 pm (45 minutes break for lunch). It was the second hottest day of the year with temperatures hitting 32 degrees by lunchtime and it felt closer to 40 degrees in the dance studio. No A/C. Yeah these buildings trap heat and are not designed to be cool on these hot summer days. I somehow manage to get through the stressful day and nervously make friends with the other actors/dancers. The American choreographer is a joy to work with - she is very demanding but at the same time, she is very reassuring and never got angry with me when I made mistakes learning new dance routines. She tried out several different routines with the cast and filmed them all - the director will then watch it and decide which routines he liked, which he didn't and which he would use on the shoot.  We were warned not to talk about the specific details of the project on social media and I had to sign an NDA. (Hence I am not actually mentioning the name of the product or what the ad is about.) I wreck my trainers early in the afternoon, the entire sole detached from my right shoe and I finish the rehearsal in my socks. I knew those shoes which I bought from Plaza Mayor were kinda old, but I didn't expect them to fall apart so spectacularly. Oh and that routine I learnt for the audition? They're not using it. Damn!

21 July: I woke up feeling like crap, I am definitely sick today after that super long rehearsal. I realized that Mel is equally sick, if not more sick and she had cancelled a dinner date to teach me Hungarian. I found some great videos on Youtube to study Hungarian anyway. I finish a blog post which will be my last major blog post before my trip to Hungary. I was cheered up by some good news: our hotel is a 4-star hotel in central Budapest, so at least I can do some touristy things whilst I am there. Likewise, the flights are of a decent time so I can definitely fit in some sightseeing whilst there. I've been to Budapest before and decided that 6 days there is long enough, I didn't want to extend the stay (especially since I'm off to America later on in August & September - more on that later).

22 July: I am supposed to be resting and doing absolutely nothing today. I am still blowing my nose every so often and I alternate between having a runny nose and having a blocked nose. I am watching past episodes of the Amazing Race when they pass through Hungary to try to get me excited about going there. I had some drama about my plane ticket - you see, my stage name is Alex Liang (and that's what everyone knows me as). I don't use my Chinese name apart from when I need to book a flight and that's like the only time I ever use it (like only my father uses my Chinese name - I swear no one else does). I always hope for the best and expect the worst when a white person has to book a flight for me because they will always find a way to misspell my Chinese name. But fortunately, after a few phone calls, I managed to sort it all out and by 6 pm I was checked into my flights and have my boarding passes printed already.

I have filmed in several European countries over the years.

23 July: We fly out tomorrow. I am now packing andworking out what I will have time to see and do there when not working. I am still not feeling 100% but there's a huge difference between when I first get up in the morning and how I feel after two cups of coffee. Caffeine is a powerful drug. I love coffee. I will continue this diary when I get back from Hungary (probably in the form of a vlog on my Youtube channel) but here's the schedule for the next few days.

24 July: Late morning flight to Budapest from Luton airport. The driver will pick me up at 8 am in the morning to take me to the airport. When we arrive there, we chill for the rest of the day and maybe I'll get to do some sightseeing before having an early night. Fingers crossed, we'll see what happens.

25-26 July: We have two days of rehearsals on the street in Budapest, to work out what the director would like.

27-28 July: Two days shoot - it will be two long and tiring, hot days. But I'm sure it'll be incredible!

29 July: Breakfast, followed by some sightseeing and shopping. We return to the airport at lunchtime for a mid afternoon flight back to London. I'll probably be totally exhausted, sunburnt but very happy to come home at last.

Jo napot kivanok, Budapest!