Holly Prentice: Behind The Screen
In many ways, Holly Prentice spends a significant amount of time behind a screen. The rolling cameras of a film set, or the modern-day trend of self-tapes, Prentice had just had another one of those days. Before we connected over Zoom, another recent addition to the world, and another screen to navigate around, Prentice had just come off one of those seemingly never-ending online auditions. “It was literally one of those that was chucked at me at the last minute,” Prentice told me. “I learned it quickly on the train, so we’ll see. What will be, will be.”
“A lot of the self-tapes I do are ones I have submitted myself for, or from recommendations,” the 28-year-old actor added. “That’s kind of the best way when someone recommends you. That is the main way I get them.”
Prentice was born in Devon and has packed a lot into those twenty-eight years. A love for the dancing world started in the embryonic years, before moving into the world of acting in various ways.
“No two days are ever the same,” Prentice told me about her working day. “Which is what I kind of love about it. The variety. The people you meet. The different things you have to do, especially in the action world. I do a lot of action stuff, which is obviously a few different skills mixed in with one category. Self-tapes and auditions are one part. But then there is the training, and the hours you spend learning your craft. One day might look very boring, just training and getting the basics done. Other days will be hectic, running around trying to do castings, self-tapes, emails, constantly emailing casting directors, just to get your name out there.”
Rejection is, sadly, a part of that life. “I don’t think it ever gets any easier,” Prentice says of receiving a no. “It has. But not much. As an actor, you are still putting yourself out there to the world. Even though you are playing a character, it’s still you. You are creating that character. You do get used to the rejections. But not hearing back is a massive part of it. Sometimes you don’t hear a no, and then you see someone doing that part that you auditioned for. So that’s a big part of rejection, not hearing back, and waiting, and being on hold. That’s difficult.”
Holly Prentice graduated from Bird College in 2016, which is self-described as a Dance and Musical Theatre Conservatoire. In different ways, Prentice has remained flexible, adding many different facets to her skillset. “For the last few years, I have been thinking, should I nail down one specific genre, or skillset?” Prentice says of that versatility. “I have come from a professional dance background. I was in musical theatre, and then I started acting with martial arts. I have all those skills, and I love all of them. But do I have to pick one? I don’t know. You don’t want to spread yourself too thinly and not know what you are good at. I think selling yourself with your best traits is really important. So even though I train in a lot of different things, I wouldn’t class myself as all of those. So I would say my niche is an action actor. But I have done moving directing for Lamda. I have been the associate choreographer for a West End show. I have done lots of different things, but I think it’s important to know what you love the most, and find that middle ground.”
Behind Closed Doors was a 2021 production highlight the horrors of domestic abuse. Prentice played Lisa, the victim of a beyond toxic marriage. It is a difficult watch, but equally, a must-watch.
“That was my first-ever lead role,” she says of that harrowing two-part film. “It was an interesting project, because it was my first time, and it was a student film; everyone has a lot to learn. Everyone there was learning on the job. Which I think is the best place to learn, because on a bigger set you are just chucked in and expected to know what all the lingo is, all these specific terms that you hear. I did time on The Witcher, and a stunt day on one of the Marvel films, and there were so many people on the set.”
As algorithms seem to work, it was a 2025 appearance on EastEnders that brought the 28-year-old to my attention. Prentice played Jessica, a small role which had certain similarities to the part she played in Behind Closed Doors. It was an experience that Prentice has fond memories of.
“Charlotte Conquest, the director, is amazing. She is such a good friend of mine. Having her on set was brilliant; she kind of broke that barrier for me of what the director wants, what is she like? Charlotte is so down-to-earth and grounded, so that really eased me in. That is a very specific type of acting as well. The speed and the number of pages they get through in a day, compared to being in a film. You would be pushing three pages a day on film; on a soap like Eatenders, they would be doing thirteen. There isn’t much time for creativity. It’s a very specific niche. In film, you have a lot more time for character development. In my short films, I love that because I get a say in how we’re going to shoot this, rather than just get on with your lines.”
Alongside everything Holly Prentice excels at, there is a love for the world of martial arts. It’s something that crosses over into her acting life. “I started as a professional dancer,” Prentice relayed to me. “I have danced since I was three years old. I taught fitness classes, and I was a personal trainer. It was a few years before Covid, one of my friends did a lot of work for an agency that does a lot of special action and stunts. I was speaking to her, and the more I looked into it, the more I realised how much it aligned with me. So I started kickboxing, boxing, and I do kali, which is a Filipino martial art. I just fell in love with it. As a dancer, you come with flexibility and a desire for fitness, mixed with a skill. Kickboxing is the thing that I fell in love with, and that led to the other things.”
Kali, a weapon-focused martial art, is a useful skillset that comes in extremely useful on set, Prentice believes. “It translates well onto the screen. A screen fight with a knife, the way you hold the knife, the blocks.”
That love for martial arts very nearly resulted in fighting for real. “I did think about doing the white-collar boxing. My mum and dad put me off it. They said if you do get injured or damage your face, then the acting side is gone. Maybe I should do more sparring, but I am not sure about the actual fighting.”
Listening to Holly Prentice passionately divulge her love for the action side of her trade, it came as no surprise what her dream roles would be. “Something like Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games, that type of action-adventure role,” Prentice somewhat predictably told me. “Anything like a Charlie’s Angels or Kill Bill, that sort of female empowerment. That sort of role I would love.”
The acting credits are already long and extensive, but the resume will grow further in 2026. An upcoming role with a little twist is on the horizon. “It’s a film that I have played the lead in for EMRJ Productions. I play twins in an action-feature film. That was a fun process. I had to learn both sides of the script and both sides of the fight. So you are completely reversing the whole fight. That will be coming out in 2026; that is called Double Kill. That will be my first lead feature film. I am excited about that.”
Photo Credit: Angus Warrender/EMRJ Productions & Yellowbellow Photos
More details of Holly Prentice and her previous work can be found on her website at:
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