The Best Thing that can happen to an Actor

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You lost out. You auditioned and they loved you. Casting was so moved by your performance they were in tears. You were called back, more than once. They said you nailed it. Or maybe you even got the part in the big budget production and shot the scene. The famous director told you how terrific you were on camera. You went home walking on air. You told all of your actor friends. Everyone said you were on your way. And then….nothing. The part went to a different actor. Your scene was edited out of the film. Your big moment turned to sand.

It doesn’t feel like a gift at that moment, (No, it hurts like hell.) but for an actor early in their career it may just be the best thing that can possibly happen. Why? Because you want that role desperately.  You need it. Your sense of self-worth hangs on it. You leave auditions replaying the scene in your head: “Maybe I should have done it this way, maybe I should have done it that way.”  You’re a bundle of nerves with no sense of who you are or what you bring to a role, and that is wrecking your chances for more work. 

Let it go. Film and TV production is a hugely expensive business, and a score of considerations go into deciding who is cast and whether a scene stays in the picture. You can’t possibly know what all of them are, so more often than not you are going to lose out to some other actor. There is no magic strategy to a cold read.

But once you stop agonizing over it, once you learn to deal with career disappointments, suck it up, and keep going, something magical DOES happen. You begin to relax during your auditions. You become more sure of yourself as an actor and as a human being, and your performances become more natural. You still want the role (Of course you do.), but you’re not going to lie awake at night beating yourself up if you don’t get it. You give the audition your best shot, and then you walk out the door and let it go.  

In short, you become a real pro.

#KathrynBrowning #ActorsAccess #KayBrowning #SAGAFTRA #ActorAuditions