We’re actors. We LOVE to complain. We complain about our rent, being poor, our significant others, our lack of significant others, etc. When we’re employed in a show we complain about the pay, the venue, the actors, stage manager, sometimes the director, etc. We beat ourselves up over reviews. We think it’s simply not fair that “so-and-so” got “whatever part.” Yup we LOVE to complain about our profession. It’s one of our favorite things to do. The only time we complain louder is…well…when we AREN’T employed.

You see actors have this universal fear of never working again. It’s irrational. It doesn’t make any sense, but even movie stars have this worry. If you don’t believe me..observe:

Newsweek interview from 2005 with likely Oscar contenders:

You’re all successful actors. Do you still have that fear, after each job, that you’ll never work again?
ANNETTE BENING: Yes.
KATE WINSLET: I feel like that all the time.
PAUL GIAMATTI: I do, too.
KATE WINSLET: Leo doesn’t. [Laughter]
HILLARY SWANK: I was just working with Clint Eastwood. He’s 74, and he says he never knows if each job is going to be his last.
ANNETTE BENING: When I was starting out, I thought there must be a point at which that goes away—that successful people didn’t have insecurities or demons. What you realize is that, if anything, it gets worse.
PAUL GIAMATTI: Every job feels like the first job. I’m always fumbling through it, trying to figure it out and going, “I’m going to get fired. I’m going to get fired.”

So what is this fear? This “I’m never going to work again” fear? This “I suck” fear. This “clearly the last director made a mistake…I don’t really have any talent” fear. Is it just good old-fashioned FEAR OF FAILURE dressed up in prettier clothes? Do actors suffer from this to a greater degree than NORMAL people, or are we just more dramatic about it? OR BOTH?!! 

I don’t know the answer to any of this. I suffer from all of these fears all the time. Of course there are times when you are on top of the world…when you get a great review…land an amazing part…have a transcendental experience on stage. They are the highest of highs, but they’re dangerous. They add pressure. They add expectations.

The thing to remember is the ebb and flow. You are not always going to be on top. Treasure the moments you are, but don’t get wrapped up in it. Treasure the moments that you’re NOT on top too. They ground you. You learn just as much if not more. You WILL work again. Don’t give up on yourself! You are good! I’ll let Kate Winslet…my favorite actress on the planet take it from here….

Does the fear of failure ever go away?
KATE WINSLET: Fear is a great thing for an actor, because you have to confront it, you know. There’s always the feeling of “I can’t do this. They’ve got the wrong person.” This job is so exciting, and most of it is terrifying, but the day I say “That’s it, I know how to act” is the day it ceases to be interesting.

P.S. This post is ABSOLUTELY for a couple of my friends that are down on themselves right now. I love you and you’re INSANELY talented so snap out of it!