TL;DR (for holiday brain)
• A question I asked myself that exposed where I’d been playing small
• A pattern actors repeat without realizing it
• Why this quiet season is actually useful
• One simple choice that led to a booking
• A tool you might resist but shouldn’t
• Something new I’m building that feels bigger than anything I’ve done before
FEATURE STORY: Stop Living Like a Background Extra and Step Into the Lead Role of Your Life
Hey there! How’s it going?
Before anything else: Happy holidays & Merry Christmas!
This is one of the few weeks all year where the noise actually drops. No auditions. Fewer emails. A little more room to hear yourself think.
Instead of rushing past that, I want to sit in it with you for a moment. A few weeks ago, I stood on stage and said something out loud that surprised me when it came out.
“This was the year I finally stepped into the lead role of my own life.”
Not just in my career, but in my real life.
And the second I said it, I knew why it mattered.
You see, for a long time, I wasn’t failing, I wasn’t stuck, I wasn’t lost. I was doing what a lot of capable actors do when things are good, but not great.
I stayed busy enough to avoid the decision to be great, because things were good. And good is the enemy of great.
That’s what “being responsible” looks like when you’re playing small. I trained. I worked. I helped others. From the outside, everything looked fine.
But if I’m honest, I was still waiting. Still telling myself "soon." Still acting like the real highest level version of me would arrive later.
At one point, sitting alone in a moment of reflection, I asked myself a question that cut through everything:
If my life were a movie, am I actually playing the lead?
And the answer was uncomfortable.
I wasn’t the villain and I wasn’t the hero. I was hovering in the background of my own story.
And then came the biggest shift...
I stopped waiting for a future version of myself to show up.
I stopped asking for permission I was never going to get.
I stopped shrinking my instincts to stay comfortable.
Nothing magically fixed overnight. But the direction of everything changed.
I’m sharing this because this industry makes it very easy to:
• Keep training without committing to be your best
• Keep submitting without fully trusting yourself
• Keep saying next year instead of choosing now
• Keep playing small enough to feel safe
So here’s the question I want you sitting with over the holidays:
Where do you already know the answer, but keep telling yourself you need more time?
Be honest. You’ve been circling it all year.
I’ll give you the YouTube link to my full talk here: https://youtu.be/9MEUMPP1Da8
It's only 5 minutes long, but those 5 minutes will change your life.
Watch it when you actually have space. This season gives you that gift. Enjoy!
BEFORE THE YEAR ENDS, A QUICK CHECK-IN
Most actors either avoid looking back or beat themselves up when they do.
Neither one helps.
If you don’t look honestly at where you are now, 2026 does not surprise you. It just repeats.
That’s why I created a simple year-end assessment for actors. Not as homework. Not as a test. Just as a mirror to help you see who you are being.
It looks at how energized you really feel, how clear you are, how much rejection still runs you, whether you trust your work, whether you are tired, and whether there is still joy in this for you.
Here’s the link:
https://form.typeform.com/to/aKUixdcx
Pour a coffee. Take it in one sitting. It’ll take you about 5 minutes and it can give you life changing clarity.
WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU TAKE IT (YES, THIS INVOLVES AI)
When you finish, you’ll get a summary of your answers.
Copy and paste it into ChatGPT or whatever AI tool you can use (Gemini, Claude, etc.) Then type this:
“Based on my responses, help me spot patterns, identify my strengths and areas for improvement, and suggest 3 immediate action steps for my acting career.”
And yes, I know. Some of you still think AI is the devil. Like using it for anything means you’re sleeping with the enemy.
Relax. It’s just a tool.
You can feel threatened by a hammer, or you can use it to build a hospital.
Used well, AI can help you see patterns faster and make decisions with more clarity.
If you want human eyes on what comes up for you, you can always email me at [email protected]
CLIENT WIN THIS WEEK
I want to celebrate this one because it’s a great reminder of what actually works. Scott McCulloch recently booked a role we worked on together in a Zoom session.
We did not chase a perfect read. We crafted three strong, different takes.
Then we submitted them with confidence. That choice alone separated him from the stack. Nice work, Scott!
FREE ACTOR TOOLS
This quiet week is exactly when these tools work best.
Audition Checklist
A quick pre-submit checklist to keep your self-tapes powerful and focused.
👉 www.actorsauditionclub.com/checklist
Audition Tracker
Track your auditions so you can see patterns and progress without spiraling.
👉 www.actorsauditionclub.com/tracker
How to Strengthen Your Agent Partnership (Q&A Replay)
A practical Q&A replay on communicating clearly and building a stronger relationship with your agent.
👉 www.actorsauditionclub.com/agent
Audition Affirmations
Short, grounded affirmations to reset your mindset before auditions or after rejection.
👉 www.actorsauditionclub.com/yes
A QUICK TEASER FOR 2026:
Giving that Breakthrough of the Year talk cracked something open for me.
It made me realize I am ready to go deeper in this work with you.
Larger Than Life is the work I’ve been circling for 17 years, finally named.
For actors, it brings together everything I’ve learned about presence, authority, confidence, voice, and actually owning the space you walk into.
This is not just about auditions.
It is about living in the lead role in your life.
And it feels like the beginning of a movement.
I am really excited to go deeper with you in 2026.
Get ready!
BEFORE YOU GO BACK TO HOLIDAY MODE...
You do not need to overhaul your life this week.
You just need to decide whether you are done waiting.
Enjoy the holidays. Be with your people. Rest.
And somewhere in the quiet, ask yourself one honest question:
Am I ready to stop auditioning for my own life?
That is where the next chapter starts.
In 2026, it's time to finally step into the lead role of your life.
Happy holidays!
- Joey
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