“You Need Tough Skin” – Ama K. Abebrese on the Ups and Downs of Pursuing an Acting Career

Seasoned Ghanaian actress Ama K. Abebrese has spoken about the challenges filmakers face in the industry.

Speaking in an interview with Roselyn Felli on Joy Prime, the thespian shared that acting demands a lot of perseverance because of the struggles involved in securing roles. She noted that many people express a desire to act, but it’s one of the most disheartening professions.

Ama explained how an actor might feel confident after multiple callbacks for a role, only to be disappointed in the end. She further emphasized the importance of developing thick skin to cope with the emotional highs and lows of the auditioning process.

“I hear ‘I want to act’ all the time. Being an actor is one of the most disappointing things you can be. It doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re in. Let’s say that you’ve auditioned for something you think you’ve done so great, and sometimes you can go to your first, second, or third; they can call you back like four times, and by the fourth time you think you’ve started cashing the check, knowing you’ve got the role, and then you don’t get it.

“So, it builds you up and pushes you down. So, you need to have a level of tough skin because it gets to a point where you start taking it personal,” she said.

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The actress, who doubles as a producer also shared her personal experience, revealing that she has auditioned for more roles than the films she has actually been in since starting her career. In the past year alone, she missed out on more than twenty roles. However, she views these setbacks as part of the industry and a way to strengthen her skills. She remains motivated to keep auditioning despite the rejections.

Ama reflected on how sometimes not getting a role makes sense later when she sees who was cast instead, acknowledging that certain roles just aren’t meant for her. Even though she’s only appeared in around twenty films throughout her career, she’s proud of the impact and recognition those films have achieved, stressing that quality matters more to her than quantity.

“If I didn’t get it, it just meant sometimes it’s not for me and you; there are times when you find out who got the role, and then you now understand why you were not given the role,” she further noted.