Stop waiting for permission to own the parts of your career that already belong to you.

What does it really mean to be in control of your acting career?

In this Independence Day episode of The Working Actor NYC Podcast, Benjamin Howes and Patrick Richwood unpack the difference between control, ownership and true creative independence. Using real comments from actors in the community, they explore what belongs to you, what belongs to your team, and what nobody gets to control at all.

From agents, auditions and financial independence to craft, confidence, self-sufficiency and the work you do before anyone gives you permission, this conversation is a practical and honest look at how actors can take more ownership of their careers without pretending they control the entire industry.

Because the more clearly you know what belongs to you, the less time you waste worrying about what doesn’t.

Why does walking into a room full of your peers feel so intimidating? Benjamin and Patrick unpack the invisible scorecard we all carry—and why genuine curiosity might be the best networking strategy you'll ever learn.

When you walk into a room full of people in your industry... what's the first thing your brain starts measuring?

Who's more successful?

Who already knows everyone?

Who looks more confident?

Who just looked over your shoulder?

Whether it's a film festival, a casting director workshop, an opening night, or a networking event, many of us stop having conversations and start auditioning for the room.

This week on The Working Actor NYC Podcast, Benjamin Howes and Patrick Richwood unpack the invisible scorecard we all seem to carry—and why "schmoozing" feels so uncomfortable for so many creative people.

Using Benjamin's recent experience at Tribeca Film Festival as a jumping-off point, they explore:

• Why networking often feels fake
• The psychology of comparing ourselves to everyone in the room
• How curiosity changes every conversation
• Why community—not performance—is what actually builds careers
• The simple question that transformed Benjamin's experience of the festival

One realization sits at the heart of the conversation:

"I stopped trying to be interesting. I became interested."

If you've ever walked into an industry event feeling like everyone else belonged more than you did, this episode is for you.

Actors deal with rejection a lot. This week, we're ranking their coping strategies from healthy to completely unhinged.

This week on The Working Actor NYC Podcast, we're diving into one of the most important—and ridiculous—parts of being an actor: coping with the ups and downs of the business.

After a field report from Tribeca Festival, where Benjamin shares what he's learning from inside one of the world's most important film festivals, we turn our attention to the weird, wonderful, and occasionally alarming ways actors deal with rejection, uncertainty, and career chaos.

Meditation? Healthy.

Calling your actor friends? Probably healthy.

Aggressively vacuuming your apartment after not booking the role? The jury is still out.

We rate real actor coping strategies submitted by viewers and deciding whether they're Healthy, Questionable, or Completely Unhinged.