Famous Actors on Rejection

When Jurassic World Dominion actress Bryce Dallas Howard was thinking about pursuing an acting career, her grandmother told her that a working actor has to go on 64 auditions before landing one role, on average. This information gave Bryce clarity on the amount of patience and perseverance required to compete as an actor. “Knowing the statistics is so grounding,” she told MarieTV. “So when I started auditioning, having an understanding of these odds … I just started counting. So one audition, two auditions, and I promised myself I wasn’t going to get upset if I didn’t book something before 64 auditions because that would be deluded thinking because the reality is that’s the average.” Over a year later, she booked her first job—glad that she never beat herself up over all the rejection she’d experienced along the way.

Although rejection is one of the toughest aspects of the field, it’s important to accept it as part of the business, and not let it dampen your spirit. Here are some quotes from famous thespians on the subject and some ideas on how to overcome it:

Susan Sarandon

“Rejection is a way of life if you’re an actor. What I would do in the beginning, even when I had no money, I would make sure, if I was going up for something over and over again and then it got down to me and someone else, and if I didn’t get it, I would celebrate. I would go out and buy myself dinner or an album if I could afford it, or an avocado—whatever my economic limits allowed me—and just celebrate it. And think, well, this means I am now available for something else. But I would celebrate and say, ‘Well, that’s what’s supposed to happen, that’s okay.’ And actually, the more rejection you get, you start to get into a life without expectation, and that’s when things surprise you and come your way.”

Daniel Craig

“You get used to the rejection and don’t take it personally.”

Felicity Jones

“You have to be totally tough to deal with all those times when you’re being turned down. And then really soft in order to access your characters’ emotions.”

Taraji P. Henson

“I was armored enough to come out to Hollywood. And I knew that I would get told ‘no’ a million times.”

Laura Kightlinger

“I always feel like rejection is my petrol. That’s what keeps me going.”

Don Rickles

“When I got out of high school, I wanted to be an actor but was getting a lot of rejections. I was getting rejected by life. My mother, God rest her soul, told me not to quit.”

Emma Roberts

“I’ve had a lot of failures as well as rejection. As an actor, it’s actually mostly rejection, but people think it’s mostly success because they only see your successes—the films that got made.”

Michael Ealy

“You cannot be successful without confronting rejection.”

David Morrissey

“When you are an actor, rejection and disappointment are an occupational hazard.”

Joey King

“Don’t get discouraged from all the rejection.”

Sylvester Stallone

“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.”

Ben Schnetzer

“If they’re going to cast one person and not another, it’s not rejection of your talent; it’s just that they want one person and not someone else. As an actor, unfortunately, it’s not your job to cast the movie.”

Jessica Biel

“You’ve got to love this business. You have to be able to take rejection.”

Luke Evans

“Don’t worry about being rejected. Life’s all about rejection. The challenge is to pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and go for the next one.”

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