The strain generated by photoresponsive polymer actuators under external applied loads is a key performance parameter. Herein, we investigated the photogenerated strain under uniaxial loads in densely crosslinked azobenzene-incorporated liquid crystalline polymer (azo-LCP) actuators. Spectral analysis indicated that the liquid crystalline (LC) moieties and incorporated azobenzene moieties behave independently under load. The degree of LC mesogen distortions decreased as the applied load increased, whereas azobenzene isomerization showed high tolerance towards the external load. Such stres-sresponse differences led to universal "two-stage" photogenerated strain behavior, with rapid decreases under low applied loads and steady linear decreases under relatively high loads. More importantly, we found that light intensity has little influence on important parameters such as the loading stage and actuator failure stress. However, these properties could be optimized by changing the crosslinking density (either azobenzene or side-chain LC concentration) in the polymeric network. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.