Sep 17, 2026 · 33 min · 15 segments
What happens to an actor when nobody is asking them to act? When the auditions slow down, the callbacks disappear, or the next job simply isn’t happening, actors often assume the frustration they’re…
Jeff DreisbachHost
Right? A writer writes, a painter paints, a musician plays, a dancer moves, and actors, well, actors frequently wait for an email.
The writer doesn't have to wait for somebody to send permission to open Microsoft Word.
The painter doesn't receive a message saying, congratulations, we'd like to invite you to use the blue paint.
But actors, well, they're trained almost from the beginning to associate creatively with being chosen.
I think that creates one of the most difficult psychological conditions in the acting profession.
And what's interesting is that sometimes the actor doesn't even recognize what's happening.
Or something else I've heard, I'm starting to wonder whether I even want to do this anymore.
Actors have a remarkable ability to turn almost any circumstance into evidence that they're not good enough.
Right? A writer writes, a painter paints, a musician plays, a dancer moves, and actors, well, actors frequently wait for an email.
The writer doesn't have to wait for somebody to send permission to open Microsoft Word.
The painter doesn't receive a message saying, congratulations, we'd like to invite you to use the blue paint.
But actors, well, they're trained almost from the beginning to associate creatively with being chosen.
I think that creates one of the most difficult psychological conditions in the acting profession.
And what's interesting is that sometimes the actor doesn't even recognize what's happening.
Or something else I've heard, I'm starting to wonder whether I even want to do this anymore.
Actors have a remarkable ability to turn almost any circumstance into evidence that they're not good enough.
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