10,000 NOs

Matthew Del Negro

Actor Matthew Del Negro (The Sopranos, The West Wing, Scandal) describes his career as being told "No" for a living. Here, he gets up close and personal with top-shelf folks from all walks of life about the 10,000 "No" s they've had to endure and struggles they've had to overcome on their journey to where they are today. Inspiring, raw, honest and funny, this podcast will help you see that the people you think have "got it made" put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 2d ago

    Jonathan Stanley: From Go-Go Dancer to Hollywood Hot Shot

    Before he owned Hollywood's number one, cutting-edge self-tape and demo reel facility, ​Hot Shots Self Taping​, Jonathan Stanley danced for tips. A true rags-to-riches story, full of grit and drama, he clawed his way out of Detroit and into Hollywood by making a semi-autobiographical film about his lean years, and then putting his hard-fought lessons in marketing to the task by piggybacking on the success of Magic Mike to sellout multiple theaters in Las Vegas and make a splash... As a business owner, his continual rise, after three full years of losing money has been amazing to witness. What started as putting actors on tape in a broom closet in 2014 has evolved into a full-blown mini-studio where he shoots short films, creates demo reels for actors from around the world on his self-built sets of a gas station, a private plane, a bar, a jail cell, interrogation room, you name it, he shoots it. His Instagram feed is fully engaged and his classes are fully packed. But all of it is in service of his 10,000 NOs journey: a sideline business built to accompany and support his acting career that now out-earns even successful actors. He is the embodiment of our philosophy to stop waiting and start creating. His stories are colorful and raw, his gratitude is infectious, and his story will both inspire and entertain you. If you’re an actor, writer or filmmaker and you think you’d benefit from being part of conversations like this every week with a group of fellow artists, consider joining our Working Actors Community. Find out more by CLICKING HERE. And remember: “failure” is just opportunity in disguise. You can flip the script to make your setbacks serve you. SHOW LINKS: 10,000 NOs: THE BOOK SUBSCRIBE TO OUR (WEEKLY) NEWSLETTER FOLLOW MATT ON SOCIAL BECOME A MEMBER OF THE WORKING ACTORS COMMUNITY

  2. Sep 24

    SEVERANCE ACTOR: Why YUL VAZQUEZ Believes All Art Stems From One Source

    “It’s all the same source. And the source in everything that you do, whether you’re taking a photograph or you’re playing music or you’re acting... is you. It’s all you.” I sat down with friend and fellow actor,  Yul Vazquez , this summer, and he blew me away on multiple levels... Not only does he have awesome stories from the seemingly endless amounts of elite films, TV shows and plays he's done over the past decades, but I got to ask him about the fact that he's also an accomplished musician, painter and photographer. With incredible charm and simplicity, he beautifully articulates some philosophies that I've been trying to grasp since this podcast began... So, yes, you'll hear personal stories about  Philip Seymour Hoffman ,  Sam Rockwell ,  Ben Stiller , and many others, but what will really inspire you is this: if, like me, you are drawn to more than just one art form or possess both artistic and entrepreneurial interests, Yul empowers you to trust that your talent and perspective in multiple fields is not a conflict. It's something to embrace and celebrate. And he just lays it all out in such a plain-spoken, cool-as-shit way that you can't help but love him for his honesty, vulnerability and wisdom that he's picked up along his journey. He made me laugh a lot, but he also reminded me that I wasn't wrong when I titled this podcast 10,000 NOs. Here are his words about the crazy journey of a life in show business, "if not the most important of all is, how much can you withstand? What are you made of? What's your mettle? Because if you crumble, you're done." If you’re an actor, writer or filmmaker and you think you’d benefit from being part of conversations like this every week with a group of fellow artists, consider joining our Working Actors Community. Find out more by CLICKING HERE. And remember: “failure” is just opportunity in disguise. You can flip the script to make your setbacks serve you.   SHOW LINKS: 10,000 NOs: THE BOOK SUBSCRIBE TO OUR (WEEKLY) NEWSLETTER FOLLOW MATT ON SOCIAL BECOME A MEMBER OF THE WORKING ACTORS COMMUNITY

  3. 12/08/2025

    Lose Your Mind with Josh Pais

    “The root of all bad acting is the thought: I’m not enough.” In today’s episode, Matt sits down with veteran actor and recently published author, Josh Pais (Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility).  You may know Josh from projects like Joker, Ray Donovan, Law & Order, A Man in Full or over 150 other credits. Today, he dishes advice on how to keep your composure and your creative juices flowing in a long career. Or just in life. As the founder of Committed Impulse, he has trained Navy SEALs, Oscar winners, and startup founders to turn rejection, fear, and failure into high-performance fuel. His new book, Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility (Hay House, Sept 2025), offers deeply personal lessons and practical tools for staying present through the unknown. Josh grew up in a household where his dad worked with Einstein and later became a counterculture icon - and his own life has been a study in navigating uncertainty and rejection in Hollywood and beyond! 10,000 NOs is here to inspire you and help you realize you are not alone if you’re battling to overcome rejection in your career or life. So, if you’re an actor, writer or filmmaker and you like what you hear in the snippets from our Working Actors Community zooms enough to want to be a part of it, CLICK HERE. Remember, “failure” is just opportunity in disguise, and you can flip the script to make your setbacks serve you. SHOW LINKS: 10,000 NOs: THE BOOK SUBSCRIBE TO OUR (WEEKLY) NEWSLETTER FOLLOW MATT ON SOCIAL BECOME A MEMBER OF THE WORKING ACTORS COMMUNITY

4.9
out of 5
214 Ratings

About

Actor Matthew Del Negro (The Sopranos, The West Wing, Scandal) describes his career as being told "No" for a living. Here, he gets up close and personal with top-shelf folks from all walks of life about the 10,000 "No" s they've had to endure and struggles they've had to overcome on their journey to where they are today. Inspiring, raw, honest and funny, this podcast will help you see that the people you think have "got it made" put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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