The Business- Some People...

          I remember that I once went on an audition for Nike. The casting director was a short, chubby man who seemed to be no younger than 38. I did as he asked with a calm demeanor, I went through all the different motions and acts that he wanted and I thought that I had done great. When the audition was done and he had gotten all the footage he needed, he handed me my headshot and resume back. This had never happened to me before and I had no clue what was going on, none of the other boys that left the audition room had their papers with them. It was then that the man smiled at me and said, "Here, if you'd rather recycle."
          If you didn't catch it, the man was telling me that he was just going to throw my papers out and not even consider me for the job. This is a common occurrence to some actors, luckily, that was the first-and hopefully only-time that has ever happened to me. i have heard stories of people walking into the audition room with a smile on their face and the best attitude ever, they give the casting director their papers and walk to the stage. When they are on the stage,. they see the director look at the headshot and resume, look at them, and then throw their papers out before the actor even had a chance.
          As an actor, you have to deal with people. You have to deal with some people in the waiting room that want you to fail and will therefore say anything to try to discourage you. If that wasn't bad enough, sometimes you have to deal with the casting director that may be having a bad day, doesn't like you, or is just plain mean. If you're like me, you would stay calm, smile, say "Thank you" and walk out. You'd save the depression for when you get in the car.
         The thing is, when people see that you're weak, when they see you cry, when they see you get angry, they remember you. They remember your face, they remember your resume, they find out who represents you, where you live and what you had for breakfast. If you make a big enough impression, you become black listed. When you become black listed, you'd be lucky if you got a job as a janitor in a theatre or movie set.
          The Bible says turn the other cheek. And you had better.