Rejection in Acting: Why It Doesn’t Define Your Career

rejection hits hard! Here are three ways to handle it that actually keep you steady...

By: Spencer Glass Apr. 25, 2026

Rejection in Acting: Why It Doesn’t Define Your Career Image

Actor and Coach, Spencer Glass, talks about how to handle rejection, and center in mindfulness to keep the no's from defining you as an artist. Check back monthly for more actor wisdom from Spencer.

Actors live in a profession where the feedback loop is almost nonexistent. You prepare, you show up, you offer something specific and personal, and then…nothing. No clear metrics, no real evaluation, and rarely any explanation. We don't get to have monthly check in's with our co workers and higher up's to get a sense of how we're doing (maybe that's the one thing I'm jealous of when it comes to corporate america).

So of course rejection hits hard. Not just because you didn’t get it, but because your brain immediately tries to make meaning out of silence (and by that, we as actors just start bullying ourselves and going down an unnecessary and dangerous rabbit hole). This is where mindfulness matters. If you’re not paying attention, your mind will fill in the gaps for you, and it will not be generous. Yikes- let's untangle rejection, shall we?

Here are three ways to handle it that actually keep you steady:

1. Rejection is often redirection

This industry is not clean or linear. Booking has very little to do with being the “best” in a traditional sense. It is timing, chemistry, type, relationships, instinct, and things you will never have access to. So when something doesn’t go your way, it doesn't automatically mean something went wrong. Sometimes it just means it wasn’t yours (we aren't in creative meetings and don't actually know the vision or *absolute* expectations for the project). You HAVE to catch the impulse to spiral, and choose not to attach a bigger story to the moment. You felt something. Let it move, but you don’t need to turn it into a verdict. It's simply just a sign telling you to keep driving straight along, and then make a right to the next big business move in your career.

2. Journal your thoughts immediately

I really believe in this. Right when you find out you didn’t get it, your brain is going to shut down, and then start to go...and fast. Most of what it says will be completely irrational and wildly unhelpful. Get it out of your head and onto paper immediately. Write the unfiltered version. "I blew it". "They didn’t like me". "It never goes my way and it will never will go my way". Let it be dramatic and raw. Once it’s out, you can actually see it., and more importantly, you can separate from it. Mindfulness is that small but powerful gap between a thought and believing it. If you don’t create that gap, those thoughts become your baseline. Then I want you to journal about three things you did in your audition that you stand by. Find pride, and locate your goods as an actor. We can't ignore our talent while navigating rejection.

3. The reason is not your business

This one is everything. You are responsible for your work, your prep, how you speak and carry yourself, and your choices. You're not responsible for how a team solves their puzzle. The second you start trying to figure out why you didn’t get it, you’re out of your lane. This. Will. Drain. You. Rejection is not your business, even though you so badly want it to be. Your work is your business. Mindfulness is catching yourself when you start digging for answers that don’t belong to you, and bringing your focus right back to where it does.

Here’s the real thing to watch. If you let the no’s pile up without checking them, they start to shape how you see yourself. I always say "you are what you repeat". One thought becomes a belief. That belief changes how you prepare, and that shift shows up in the room and in your tapes. Now you’re not just dealing with rejection, you’re performing inside of it...THAT'S the domino effect. We aren't doing that anymore, divas.

The no’s are part of the deal. It's par for the course, whether we like it or not. However, they just don’t get to outweigh your belief in what you’re building. Please keep telling yourself that.

Rejection in Acting: Why It Doesn’t Define Your Career Image

Spencer Glass is a career coach for actors, and an actor himself, who has been seen off broadway at New York City Center, across the US on Broadway National Tours, and regionally at theatres around the country. You can book a career session with Spencer at www.Spencerglass.com, and follow for free tips and advice on his TikTok page, @Spencer.Glass, as well as his instagram, @Hispencerglass. His business, Spencer Glass Coaching, has clients working on broadway, national tours, tv & film etc. He has reached artists globally, and when he isn’t on stage/set, he’s guiding others and helping to create sharp and specified roadmaps for his clients’ career. Spencer is a multi-hyphenate who had two shows with BroadwayWorld (It’s The Day Of The Show Y’all & Ten Minute Tidbits), and has interviewed and performed with actors like Sheryl Lee Ralph, Eva Noblezada, Derek Klena, Laura Bell Bundy, Grey Henson, among others.

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