Perspective

Last week I got an audition for two roles on a prime time TV show. I was called back for both roles and I liked my chances to book one of them. The director is someone I have worked with before and the casting director has been calling me in regularly. Hell, I thought I was a shoo-in. When my agent hadn't called by 7 pm on Friday night with the booking, it was clear that they had gone with someone else.

Now, as an actor you get very good at handling rejection. But, inevitably, when you get close to booking a job you begin to get your hopes up. It always stings when you don't get the part. As a result, I was feeling a little bad over the weekend. But, I just heard a story that gave me some perspective so I thought I'd share it with you.

I just got back from another night at the circus (seriously, it's really fun... you should go). After the show, I wondered around the big top and came across the ringmaster. After sharing some of his Jack Daniels, I learned that his name was Ted. Ted told me a little story that I really took to heart. You see, Ted got his start as a big cat man (the guys that go into the cage with lions and tigers holding nothing but a whip and their enormous cojones). On his first job, Ted was getting trained by the retiring cat man. Unfortunately, Ted hesitated and was promptly bitten by a tiger. It wasn't fatal but he was bleeding profusely from three puncture wounds on his neck and back. The retiring cat man told him that the only thing to do was to repeat the trick immediately without showing fear or pain. With blood soaking the front of his shirt and in great pain, Ted approached the tiger. He looked it in the eye, gathered his wits, and repeated his command. The tiger sized up this silly, bleeding man that he had just bitten, and obeyed.

Now, acting and auditioning aren't nearly as hazardous as being a cat man but the mentality is similar I think. Instead of licking your wounds and calling it a day, you've got to get back in there and show 'em what you're made of. People and tigers alike respect someone that can take a little punishment and not back down. I'm just glad that I'm taming producers and writers instead of 400 pound cats. Getting tested by them is seldom fatal. So, next time you get tested and come up short, remember Ted. And if that doesn't help, remember that he was drinking Jack Daniels. That definitely helps.

Lastly, we have lost one of the true greats in this business. Paul Newman was one of a kind. He'll be missed.