Dick Van Patten Quotes

You go up for hundreds, thousands of roles, and you get told no, no, no, so many times.

I never doubted that I would work, and every time I went to an audition, I went into the room with the knowledge that I was going to get the part. Ninety-nine times out of 100, I didn't.

I turned to my mom and said, 'I'm going to be a martial arts movie star.' She didn't believe me, and neither did my dad. They both thought I would grow out of it. That it was a phase. I decided then I was going to do it or die trying.

In L.A., you constantly go on auditions, and you're usually not what they're looking for - you get used to going back and back to the same show, and nothing happens.

I always wanted to be an actor, even when I was a little kid. When I used to run away from home, I'd go to movies and sit all night watching Kirk Douglas. When I was 16, I tried getting into the Actors Studio, and they told me to get lost. I said 'I'll come back when I'm a man,' and I came back when I was 30.

As an actor, you have to get used to being told no, develop a thick skin, and just keep persevering.

When I was seven, I asked my mom if I could be on TV, and she said if I really wanted to, I could. I got an agent and booked my first audition.

At 3 years old, I was imitating and doing fun little commercials for the family. Then at 5, I knew, 'OK, this is something I really like.' At 8, I was crying in front of the mirror and my mom was like, 'Oh boy, here we go. We know what she's going to do.'

When the time came to make a decision about what do in life, I found myself thinking that acting was the thing I loved to do, so I applied to drama school. And then, I didn't get in - twice.

In my early days, I auditioned a lot. Mostly, I didn't get anywhere.

For my first role, I had to audition five times. I've gotten a lot of no's and rejections. But I just had to keep working hard. I took classes; I worked on my craft and continued to work with an acting coach and just didn't give up on myself.

I wanted to be an actor as a kid. My teacher in second grade had called a talent agency and had them call my house. My mom was so mad.

There were years in between of going to auditions pretty much every day and getting nothing.

What drew me into being an actor was that I never got cast in the school plays - and it used to kill me.

There are certain roles that you really want to get, but you need to learn to deal with the rejection.

When I was going into acting, my mom said, "You can't let that faze you. And if it does faze you, if you start getting upset if people say no, that's it - pull the plug."

At some point, when I was 14 or 15, the idea crossed my mind to become an actor... I hadn't been to the theater much... When I grew up, we had one TV channel, which was sufficient.

I remember lying in bed one night when I was 15 and deciding I was ready to go into acting properly. I'd put it off until then because I didn't feel I was ready to handle the rejections.

I wasn't accepted the first time I tried to get into drama school. I said, 'I'll give this one more shot... and if that doesn't work, I won't bang my head against this painful brick wall.'

I want to act in films and TV drama, so that's where I'm aiming to be, and I'm not going to let anything distract me or turn my head until I get there.

You have to keep persevering. An actor goes to a lot of auditions and doesn't get the part.

There was a period where I stopped auditioning because I was like, 'I don't have the heart.' There's just so much rejection.

Acting is the most bizarre profession. You can stay in it for years and not really be in it and be waiting for someone to give you an opportunity. It's like when I watch 'American Idol' and see people who have been told to believe in themselves at all costs: It's not always a good idea.

I told my parents I wanted to move to New York City and be an actress when I was around seven or eight.

I came to London. I spent nine months doing domestic work and gardening because I knew I wanted to get a West End show. So, when I was offered jobs in Stoke or Leicester or whatever, I'd say no. Eventually, I got 'Godspell.' It was gently building.