TIRED OF REJECTION? NOT GETTING ANY ROLES? THINKING THAT ACTING IS NOT FOR YOU? WELL...QUIT!

 Have you been rejected time and time again by talent agents, Casting Directors, Producers, et al?  Have you watched others succeed while you’re still waiting in the wings? Well, I have some advice. Quit.

Yes, I said quit. Why waste your time when you’re going nowhere?  Why waste your money on headshots, classes, union dues, and all else that comes with the business?

Quit!

Look at John Krasinski.  He was waiting tables and getting nowhere in the business.  He came close to quitting…until his breakout role in the “The Office.”

Or perhaps you could be like Melissa McCarthy.  She was getting nothing but constant rejection and considered quitting…until her role in “Gilmore Girls” and being nominated for an Oscar.

Then we have Michael B. Jordan.  If anyone had a good reason to quit acting, it was him!  Agency after agency rejected him...this was before Time magazine named him among the 100 most influential people in the world.  This was also before several successful productions and being nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

But…by all means, quit!

Have you been fooled into believing you could be an overnight success?  Of course, no one ever told you that an overnight success usually takes about ten years.

But…yes…quit! 

Don’t let these pesky Casting Directors or Talent Agencies get the best of you by their constant rejection.  I would show them who’s boss.  I would quit!

As for me…it has been a dry spell, but I have decided to wait it out and continue persevering.  You see, I am not very smart.

I strongly recommend if you’re a senior citizen actor like me, that you quit. 

I don’t like the competition. 

SAY "NO" TO THE GLAM SCAM!

Many years ago, a friend's daughter received a notice in the mail that a talent agency in Los Angeles was looking for future stars. It included an invitation for her to come to their agency and audition. Excited for the opportunity to be an actor, she talked her parents into taking her to the audition.

When they showed to the "audition", they were joined by a large number of eager young people anxious to get their big break in the business. My friend's daughter posed for photos and was interviewed for the camera.

A few minutes later, the daughter and parents were ushered into a room where they were told the young lady had star potential and the agency could help her by having professional headshots done along with acting classes...both from their agency. Happily, the parents saw the red flags and went no further. Not so happily, too many fall for this glam scam and find themselves thousands of dollars poorer with nothing to show for it except empty promises.

I will repeat what I have stated many times...THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS IN THIS BUSINESS!

Film Florida has published a pair of "one sheets" for actors and crew members to provide guidance in avoiding scams in our business. I am enclosing the one sheet for actors, since this website is for actors. Crew members can find their one sheet HERE.

SELF DOUBT = SELF SABOTAGE

Three score and seven years ago, my 8th grade music teacher handed me sheet music to “The Dream of Olwen” (Charles Williams, Composer) and suggested I should perform this on the piano with the school orchestra at the annual school music festival. One look at the music sent pangs of self-doubt through me and I felt this was not only a difficult task, but a near impossible one as well. I had been taking piano lessons since the age of eight and was considered a pretty good musician for someone my age, although I didn’t believe it. Nevertheless, I practiced the piece for weeks alone, and with the orchestra, and successfully performed it at the festival. That should have been a lesson that I am capable of more than I thought.

It wasn't.

I was not raised in the most supportive household and self-doubt was so rampant in my life that it led me to give up the piano at the age of eighteen…self-sabotage at its finest.

Years later, the idea of becoming an actor intrigued me, however, I took no action for the same reason…I simply didn’t feel I was good enough.

My self-esteem received a much needed boost during my time in the military since I accomplished much more than I thought capable and, as a result, years later I decided to leave my comfort zone and audition for a play being produced in our community. I booked a lead role and immediately had to memorize many pages of dialogue. Another impossible task I thought, yet despite my self-doubt, I accomplished it.

I learned that my self-doubt had been standing in the way of success and that I was engaging in self-sabotage. At that point, I made the decision to continue leaving my comfort zone and try to accomplish those things I used to dream about. This led to years doing live radio and hosting a regional television program…two things I once thought would never happen. I was accomplishing things I never thought I could do! Nevertheless, I was hit with another malady…a malady commonly known as the Imposter Syndrome.

During my time in radio and television, I received compliments from others and was even nominated for a press club award two years in a row. I received a proclamation from our city council honoring me for my support in the community. I was honored by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army for my efforts in supporting their missions. These awards take up space on the wall of a room in my house and should be a reminder that I have done well.

Should, but not always.

There were times I felt I would soon be discovered as a phony…a fake...and that all my accomplishments were the result of dumb luck…being in the right place at the right time. In short, I was a poster boy for the Imposter Syndrome.

It has taken time, but I have managed to overcome my self-doubt by accepting that I will never rise above being human and that I am OK just the way I am…warts and all. I can stop trying to be a perfectionist in order to live up to what I feel others expect of me. I have had to separate the facts of my accomplishments from my feelings of self-doubt. Most of all, it has been a relief to learn that many people on occasion have experienced the same self-doubt.

So, what's it like now? Well, this 80 year-old is having fun being me!

Accept who you are and have fun!