Techniques are provided for using a multi-stage actuator to actuate one or more optical components of an optical head. The multi-stage actuator includes a cross-layer displacement component which actuates an optical component to change the beam focus in a displacement range corresponding to the thickness of the data layers in a holographic disk, such that a beam is impinged on the target data layer. The multi-stage actuator also includes a intra-layer focusing component which actuates the optical component in a smaller range to focus the beam on the target data position. The cross-layer displacement component and the intra-layer focusing component may each include more than one actuator. In some embodiments, the focusing component also actuates the optical component in a tilting motion to compensate for movement or imperfections of the disk during a reading or recording process.