'I just see little me, extremely nervous': Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell cringes uncomfortably as she watches her VERY awkward audition tape for the hit show

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Shay Mitchell has taken a walk down memory lane while sharing her very first audition tape for Pretty Little Liars with her fans — and she has no problem admitting that the footage is a big cringeworthy to watch.  

The 30-year-old actress, who played Emily Fields on the hit show, took to her YouTube page this month to share a video of herself covering her hands over her eyes while watching the clip that was filmed in the basement of a talent agency.

'A lot of you have been asking to see my PPL — Pretty Little Liars — audition tape, and I've stalled for as long I could, but I'm not going to stall any longer,' she explains at the start of the clip.' I shot this eight years ago, and let's just say I was a little baby.

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Revealed: Shay Mitchell shared her very first Pretty Little Liars audition tape (pictured) on her YouTube channel. She played Emily on the show, which aired its final season in the summer

Can't take it: The 30-year-old provides commentary throughout the clip, and she admits the footage is a bit creditworthy for her to watch 

Shay goes on to say that she is a 'little bit embarrassed' to be watching it because it was the first big audition that she had ever done.  

'Looking back on this, as the years go by, I get more mortified and more mortified when I watch it because I just see little me, extremely nervous.' 

Before she auditioned for the part, Shay was working as a bottle service waitress in Toronto, Canada, and had just met her manager, David Dean Portelli.

Shay recalls how she told David that she would love to be on a teen drama like Gossip Girl, and he explained that Pretty Little Liars was in the same vein as the hit series.    

However, she barely had any time to prepare and learn her lines because she had work that night and was unable to reschedule the audition that was taking place the next day.

Eek: 'I get more mortified and more mortified when I watch it because I just see little me, extremely nervous,' she says of the audition, which took place when she was just 22 years old

Whoops! The actress loses it when she notices herself smiling while talking about her dead friend in the audition, admitting that was the one part she would do over

The actress admits that she would practice her lines in the coat check room before running out to take people's orders, noting that auditions for big U.S. shows don't happen all the time in Toronto.   

'I think people thought I was a little odd,' she says of how much time she spent in the coat-check room that night. 

Shay says she didn't have any money to have her audition professionally filmed, and she ended up reading in front of a green screen at a talent agency with the building's secretary reading her lines with her.

Before starting the audition tape, Shay points out that this is the video that got her to Los Angeles to meet the studio and the showrunners before landing the role.

'They saw something in this tape, so thank you [executive producer] Marlene King,' she says. 

Confession: The star points out that her teeth are straighter now because she got braces right after the audition, but then she admits she actually got veneers

She gets it: Although she isn't exactly a fan of the audition tape, Shay says she is giving off an 'Emily vibe' because she is so 'innocent' 

The audition sees Shay acting out two scenes: Emily's first run in with Aria in the pilot and her first meeting with Maya St. Germain, who would later become her character's first girlfriend on the show.       

Shay provides commentary throughout the video, and spends the first part of the clip watching with her hands over her face while critiquing her audition.   

'There's like no pauses in this. I should have taken a breath,' she gripes. 

The actress loses it when she notices herself smiling while talking about her character's friend Alison, who was believed to be dead.  

'This is the part that I am like you need to redo it. Like no. What are you doing?' she asks herself. 'I don't understand. I was a little bit smiling when I'm talking about my dead friend.'

Throwback: Shay also shares a video of herself giving a tour of her hotel room she was staying in while auditioning in L.A. She learned she got the part in this room 

Looking back: Shay admits it is 'so cute' to see how thrilled she was to be staying in that hotel

Loving it: Shay bursts into laughter when she watches her younger self tell the camera: 'This is one happy girl' 

Shay, who was just 22 years old at the time of the audition, notes that she thinks her voice has changed over the year. She also can't get over how impressed she is with the voice of the person reciting lines with her behind the camera.  

'I don't know if I necessarily booked this part of or if the girl that was reading with me got this part for me because of her amazing acting,' she says.

The star points out that her teeth are straighter now because she got braces right after the audition, but then she admits she actually got veneers.   

Although she isn't exactly a fan of the audition tape, Shay says she can see why they eventually cast her in the role.  

'I definitely get the Emily vibe because I am so innocent,' she explains. 'I think I almost acted the exact same way in the actual pilot as I did in this audition.'

At one point during her reading, Shay pretends to smoke marijuana for the first time and executes a very realistic fake couch.  

Hustle: Shay was working as a bottle service waitress in Toronto, Canada, before her audition, and she had to learn her lines while hiding in the coat check room. She is pictured on the show 

Emotional moment: Shay shared a photo of herself filming her last scene of the show with her castmates over the summer 

Style star: Shay will be playing Peach Salinger in the upcoming Lifetime series You, which is based on Caroline Kepnes' thriller 

'I've never done that before. I don't know what I was doing,' she says before congratulating herself on her 'good fake cough.'

After the tape was through, Shay recalls how she was flown out to Los Angeles to continue her audition, and she was so amazed that the studio gave her free credit to eat and drink anything she wanted while flying coach. 

When she arrived, she was even more impressed that she had a driver waiting for her. She explains that the first time that she ever sat first class was when she was returning to Canada after booking the show.

Shay also shares a video of herself giving a tour of her hotel room she was staying in while she was auditioning for Pretty Little Liars in L.A. 

She makes sure to point out the desk she was sitting in when she found out she got the part, and she remembers she screamed 'bloody murder' because she was so excited. 

Shay admits it is 'so cute' to see how thrilled she was to be staying in that hotel.

'Guys the simple things in life still get me so excited,' she says, adding: 'So many amazing moments happened in that room.'