Ambitions’Acacia Leigh Shares How to Overcome Rejection in Hollywood

Acacia Leigh, who plays “Deja” on OWN’s hit show Ambitions gets candid about handling rejection gracefully. She also discusses losing big roles to Ryan Destiny and Kayla Smith.

As we all know, to be successful in the entertainment industry, one must have tough skin, especially in acting. Newcomer Leigh has proven that she is in for the journey.

Known for her recurring role on OWN’s hit tv show Ambitions, Leigh plays the daughter of Essence Atkins and Kendrick Cross.

While she is only getting started, Acacia has already learned some valuable take-aways from booking auditions and moving past rejection. In a recent interview on AfterBuzz TV’s Ambitions After Show, Leigh details the hefty prepping that goes into the audition process.

“It feels like its 90% rejection. You could spend hours on it, call off of work, spend hundreds of dollars getting coached for it, and you just don’t ever hear back. Rejection isn’t hearing someone say ‘we actually decided to go with someone else’. It’s just silence,” said Leigh.

Two auditions that hit her the hardest were for roles on tv show All-American and Universal’s biopic Flint Strong. Leigh lost the role of Rochelle in All-American to her Ambitions’ co-star Kayla Smith and the role of Claressa Shields in Flint Strong to Ryan Destiny. Although disappointed, Leigh still maintained good sportsmanship.

She added, “it’s always fun to see who they went with.”

Leigh managed to maintain a positive attitude by staying humble.

“You got to understand, even though you are just now seeing them, these people have been putting in work,” she expressed passionately. “You have to humble yourself. You are happy for them because you would want people to be happy for you when it’s your turn.”

Keeping a gentle spirit, Acacia shows her support for Ryan Destiny’s role in Flint Strong by mentioning that she is “super excited to see what she does with it.”

“I loved her in the movie A Girl Named Grace,” said Leigh, “so when I saw how she booked this character, Claressa, I know she is going to kill it. I’m excited to see what she is going to do with it. So shoutouts to you Ryan!”

Along with her undeniable talent, Leigh definitely has the right heart posture and resilient attitude to go far in the entertainment industry.

Make sure to check out Ambitions, created by Jamey Giddens and Will Packer, on OWN, Tuesdays 10/9c.