Audition Inspiration - Don't Give Up!

Auditions are not for the faint of heart. It can be an extremely nerve racking experience. Sitting in a room, facing all of your competitors, waiting for your moment with the casting director while trying to not forget your lines is all part of the process. And when the audition is over you walk out feeling relieved until the somewhat torturous wait to see if you booked the part begins.

Although auditioning may seem like a daunting task, it is a necessity if you want to book that part. I know it can be discouraging to go on audition after audition and not get the call back. It can be extremely tempting to just give up. After all, auditioning can take a serious toll on your confidence, if you allow it.

It’s important to put the audition experience in perspective, so that you can continue to stay motivated and not give up. Try to view it as a learning experience. You’ve got the training, now comes the time to put those classes to use to get you that part. Each and every time you go in to an audition you are perfecting your craft. Today it may be a no but tomorrow there is always another opportunity for a yes.

As a bit of inspiration, here are some examples below of famous actors who didn’t give up, even after being rejected at an audition. Their subsequent careers speak for themselves…

Sidney Poitier was the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor (for Lilies of the Field in 1963.) After his first audition, a casting director told Poitier to stop wasting people’s time and to go be a dishwasher. He made it a point to prove those casting director’s wrong and ended up winning an Oscar in the process.

Winona Ryder is an iconic 90’s film actress who was told that she would never make it in Hollywood because of her looks. In the middle of an audition a casting director told her she shouldn’t be an actress because she wasn’t pretty enough and didn’t have it.” Winona persevered and went on to star in many hit movies and is still gracing the screens today.

Chloë Grace Moretz began her acting career at the young age of seven. Even with her early success, she still got rejected at auditions. In regards to rejection she says, “You go up for hundreds, thousands of roles, and you get told no, no, no so many times. You have to have a tough skin; otherwise you’d get beaten down. I love getting told no ’cause then I fight even more.”

Jennifer Hudson had her first experience in the limelight as a finalist on American Idol. She went through a grueling audition process even before the cameras were rolling. People told her she would never win and that she didn’t have what it takes to be a star. Jennifer came in 7th on American Idol but went on to win an Oscar, a Grammy and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Julia Roberts – She may not have gotten the part with this audition for Seven Minutes In Heaven but she kept on auditioning, landed her breakout role in Pretty Woman and is still at the top of her game, making hit movies one after the other.

Scarlett Johansen started going on auditions at a young age. She didn’t book the role in Jumanji from this audition but she kept pushing forward and is now one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood.

Josh Hutcherson auditioned for the role of Spider-Man. He even went as far as a screen test. Eventually he lost the role but kept on auditioning and went on to star in the tremendously successful Hunger Games franchise.

Keep striving. Your dream is only a “Yes” away!