Itzan Escamilla looks just to the side of the camera. He smirks. He pokes his tongue out — for only a second — while deep in thought. Two wavy strands of hair fall onto his forehead, framing his face with a perfect ’90s heartthrob middle part. This is how Escamilla landed the role of Elite’s Samuel Garcia, the Spanish teen soap’s tortured everyman (if every man is also ridiculously dreamy, as is the case in the world of Las Encinas). We know as much because Elite got Escamilla, and the rest of its original cast, to review their audition tapes for one very nostalgic video. It’s a blast from the past before Escamilla and co-stars like Danna Paola, Ester Expósito and Arón Piper became complete international social media supernovas.

The Cast Reacts To Their Audition Tapes | Elite See the original casting tapes for Samu, Guzmán, Omar, Lu, Ander, Nadia, Carla, and Polo.

“You’re handsome like an Instagrammer,” actor/pop star Paola, who plays queen bee Lu Montesinos, compliments in the all-Spanish promo video, which was initially filmed ahead of Elite Season 2. It was a simpler time, when far fewer Las Encinas students had been murdered, presumed dead or suspected of a crime. “James Dean!” the cast screams in unison, agreeing Escamilla is “seductive” and looks like “a rebel.” Escamilla can’t help but be self-deprecating as he jokes, “They told me later, ‘Don’t get confused. Because that’s not how you will perform in the show.’ ” 

Omar Ayuso, the only other remaining original Elite star in the series’ upcoming fifth season, is far more confident when his audition clips come up. Ayuso, who portrays the lovable Omar Shanaa (one half of fan-favorite ship “Omander” with Piper’s Ander Muñoz), quietly smiles as his first audition video reveals a chemistry read between himself and Piper. Clearly, it went well. Ayuso is the sole cast member in his second casting snippet, which his on-screen sibling Mina El Hammani gleefully calls “cute.” “I was sure I was going to be chosen,” Ayuso reveals. “I actually didn’t have any reason to feel like that... But I felt an energy, like I was going to be chosen.” 

Watch the video to see the auditions for yourself — including Ester Expósito’s shockingly “innocent” take on posh schemer Carla Rosón.