Aaron Marcus advises actors and models on declining work offers. Use brief, polite language like "I'm just not going to be available" instead of explaining your reasons or criticizing the project. Think long-term about low-paying jobs and protect your professional relationships.
Hey, I'm Aaron Marcus. And, you know, as a full-time actor, it's hard to turn down jobs. Sometimes you do though, you know, and it could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe it's something, it's a project you're not comfortable being affiliated with. Maybe it's a political spot, you don't want to support the candidate. Maybe you are a vegan and you don't want to support eating meat. Maybe you don't want to support cigarette ads or beer ads alcohol. I mean, there are a lot of different reasons why you might not want to accept an audition or a booking. Or maybe you aren't comfortable with the content. You know, that's a possibility too. Maybe there's language in there you don't like. Maybe there are scenes you're not comfortable doing. There's a whole list of reasons why it's absolutely okay to say no to a project. But how you say no, that's important. And so I've got a couple of suggestions for you. I mean, number one, I mean, let's say it's a very small-paying job and you think, you know what, I really just don't want to waste my time doing this. Well, one thing just to keep in mind, and I'm not trying to push you into doing a job at all, but sometimes you just don't know. where a small-paying job will lead you and the connections you might make. And maybe this small-paying job has a great director, and maybe the next thing that's going to happen for this director is a much bigger project, and the director worked with you, liked you, liked your work, and, you know, might consider hiring you again. So at least for me, and I know like everybody does things differently, for me, I don't accept or turn down jobs based on money. Now, being a union actor, it has to be a union job. But even like for commercial modeling jobs, I just don't turn them down just because it's a low-paying job. I'm always thinking about long range, and maybe that photo that I get that I didn't make very much money from, maybe it will be invaluable to me. Maybe it will get me a lot more work. So Anyhow, there are a lot of reasons why you might or might not want to accept a job. But here's a key thing. It's how you turn it down. And I am sure there are plenty of people who will say to the writer, hey, I looked this stuff over. It's just not written really well. I just don't want to be a part of it. That's not a good idea. Or, I just think the concept just doesn't really seem to work. Or you start critiquing it. Critiquing it and maybe offering ideas. Look, get rid of all that stuff because it's a big world out there, but in many ways it can get very small. And people somehow seem to know each other, find ways of knowing each other. And if all of a sudden you start being considered a pain, somebody who has this huge ego, and yeah, I had this project and yeah, the guy wouldn't work on it because he wasn't getting paid. You know, who knows why people are going to talk about you, but that stuff happens. And, and once again, you just never know where somebody's going to end up. And I'm not saying there aren't times, you know, you just stand up for yourself. Things aren't working out the way that you expect, the way you need it to in order to move on. And you will say something. Of course there are times, but here's a really simple way of getting out of a project and not it turning into a problem. Just say, hey, thank you so much. I'm just not going to be available. That's all. You know, I just can't do it. That's all. Make it really simple. Don't start getting involved in your personal thoughts and, yeah, the stuff— I don't know, the plot just didn't seem to go anywhere. Get rid of all that. Don't get involved with it. Hey, thank you very much. It's just not something I'm going to be able to do. Leave it at that. The less you say, the better. And what you'll find is that, you know, you will have less opportunities for negative things to start happening. And I can tell you, especially now, you know, all it takes is one person who gets onto, you know, social media pages and starts blasting you. And that stuff really can be damaging. So you want to be really careful with all that. So anyhow, that's my advice. I'm really sorry. Thank you very much. I want to wish you best of luck. I'm just not going to be able to do it. And just let it go. So anyhow, really curious if there are ways that you have gotten out of jobs that you just didn't want to do. Please share them here. I'd love to have you help other people. I want to learn from it as well. I mean, that's what this channel is all about if you're watching this on my YouTube channel. It's about all of us getting together, creating this great acting and modeling industry family, and sharing information with each other. I mean, that, that's why I'm doing this. That's what this is all about. Don't forget, if you have not subscribed to the channel yet, just click on the subscribe button. There's also a little bell, the notification button. That way, every time I upload a new video, you'll be sent information. And the very last thing, if you can, I greatly appreciate it. I'd love to have you be a financial supporter of this site as well. And so if you could make a donation, that would be wonderful. Whatever is good for you. I'm not even going to suggest an amount. Whatever you're comfortable with. And if you are on my channel, just scroll down. You'll see there's a PayPal link and you can make a donation right there. And I really appreciate it. And if you have any other follow-up questions, always feel free. You can get to me at howtoactandmodel.com. Anyhow, I'm Aaron Marcus. Can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
