"When you're just an actor, maybe not the top of the list guys, you get constant rejection and it's fun"
About this Quote
The intent feels less like whining than reframing. Arquette is describing the working actor’s emotional economy: if you treat each audition as a referendum on your worth, you burn out; if you treat it as repetition, exposure therapy, a weird social game, you can survive. “Constant rejection” becomes a rhythm, even a privilege, because it means you’re still in motion, still in the mix, still getting a shot at the next door.
There’s also self-protection in the phrasing. By pre-emptively lowering the status claim (“not the top of the list”), he seizes control of the narrative before Hollywood can do it for him. It’s a veteran’s coping mechanism delivered as an almost playful flex: I’ve been told no so many times it stopped being a verdict.
Context matters: Arquette’s career has zigzagged between mainstream visibility and scrappier reinventions. That “fun” reads like the adrenaline of staying game in an industry designed to keep most people auditioning indefinitely.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Arquette, David. (2026, January 15). When you're just an actor, maybe not the top of the list guys, you get constant rejection and it's fun. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-youre-just-an-actor-maybe-not-the-top-of-the-167284/
Chicago Style
Arquette, David. "When you're just an actor, maybe not the top of the list guys, you get constant rejection and it's fun." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-youre-just-an-actor-maybe-not-the-top-of-the-167284/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When you're just an actor, maybe not the top of the list guys, you get constant rejection and it's fun." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-youre-just-an-actor-maybe-not-the-top-of-the-167284/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
