- How to Build a Voice Over Empire by Serving Your Community with David H. Lawrence XVII
Today's guest, David H. Lawrence XVII, is a prime example of someone who decided to control his own destiny while still pursuing his dream, by combining his experience in technology with his love of storytelling to serve others by giving them tools and a path to success.
His combo of service and entrepreneurial prowess is the special sauce many performers seek: how to have staying power in show business without riding such a scary rollercoaster. His extremely successful VO Heroes, ACX Masterclass, and Narrate Your Own Book courses and communities have helped thousands of artists make a living from home.
Lately, it seems like everyone, not just actors, is working harder and harder for less and less reward...
Between AI and diminishing opportunities, not being resourceful enough to create additional revenue streams no longer seems like an option if you want to get ahead, or even just have some certainty. Watch or listen to this conversation if you want inspiration to make it happen for yourself.
1h 3m - Sep 3, 2026 - WWE Champion and World's Strongest Man: Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman (Won the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships, WWE Champion, Entrepreneur and Now Host of EVERYTHING ON THE MENU) sat down on 10,000 NOs with Matthew Del Negro podcast…
He doesn’t just flex his muscles…
He drops some legit, hard-earned, plain-spoken KNOWLEDGE BOMBS full of wisdom on us!!
#braunstrowman #matthewdelnegro #10000nospodcast #wwechampion #everythingonthemenu
Welcome to 10,000 NOs with Matthew Del Negro — a channel for actors, filmmakers, writers, creatives, and entrepreneurs navigating the ups and downs of building a career.
Through honest conversations with working artists, storytellers, and industry professionals, we explore the realities of rejection, persistence, and what it really takes to succeed in entertainment and creative business.
If you’re chasing a creative career or building something of your own, remember: every “no” can bring you closer to your next “yes.”
Sign up for our Newsletter by emailing: info@10000nos.com with "Newsletter" in the Subject Line
SHOW LINKS:
Follow 10,000 NOs on Instagram
VIDEO CHAPTERS:
00:00 INTRO
01:55 WHO IS BRAUN STROWMAN
07:00 SECOND CHANCES
10:46 STRONG MAN
18:59 GET THESE HANDS WWE
26:00 CATCH THE AUDIENCE
29:00 LEARN A SKILL/TRADE
33:00 BEING A GOOD STUDENT DOESN’T PAY OFF
36:00 MANIFEST IT!
40:00 EVERYTHING ON THE MENU
46:57 WHY BRAUN STROWMAN?
55m - Jun 17, 2026 - Bunny of Kingstown: Tobi Bamtefa
“I dropped my accent immediately. I said, ‘Bro, listen… I’m an actor. I’m just acting, alright? I’m not a gang member. I’m not even from this country!”
In today’s episode, Matt sits down with actor Tobi Bamtefa, whom you may recognize as Bunny, the gangster kingpin at the heart of Paramount +’s Mayor of Kingstown. The conversation dives deep into Tobi’s intricate character development with Bunny as well as his departure from his path to becoming a lawyer to pursue stage and screen, eventually working across from stars like Jeremy Renner, Bryan Cranston and Tim Roth, among others.
Actors will particularly enjoy this conversation as they spend some time demystifying audition preparation, creating a character and their specific self-tape practices.
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.
Remember, “failure” is just opportunity in disguise, and you can flip the script to make your setbacks serve you.
SHOW LINKS:
1h 32m - Apr 6, 2026 - Mayor of Kingstown's Tony Award-Winning Laura Benanti
"Self-reflection is often saying ‘I wish I had done something differently’, and that to me can sound like lack of gratitude, but also these things are true”.
In today’s episode, Matt sits down with his Mayor of Kingstown colleague and celebrated American Actress and singer, Laura Benanti. Renowned for her extensive Broadway Career, Laura is a Tony Award Winner and five time nominee.
She has also won a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and been nominated for a Saturn Award, among others. The conversation covers her meteoric path to Broadway dominance, the side-effects of rising so quickly while still finding one's self, and a deep dive into her powerful role on Season 4 of Mayor Kingstown.
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:
1h 1m - Mar 2, 2026 - Making A Movie Takes A Village - Thank You!
"It took me until 53 to learn this lesson…"
In today’s episode, Matt sits down to talk about confronting the self-limiting beliefs that can make us feel embarrassed or ashamed—especially when it comes to asking for help. You hear the saying all the time: “Making a movie takes a village,” and it truly does.
As we say goodbye to 2025 - with all the ups and downs it brought - we want to thank you for your continued support of 10000No’s and for helping turn MICKEY BRASCH into a reality.
Stay tuned in the new year - there are a lot of amazing things coming your way!
Happy Holidays and Thank you for your continued support
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.
19m - Dec 22, 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:
39m - Dec 8, 2025 - Casting Director Lisa London on Showing Up Prepared and Being Yourself
"Well, I always tell actors to always bring your A game to every audition. Because you never know. Like exactly what Matt just said. I have extensive notes on actor's that I've read. And I go, 'This guy is really good we can bring him in for another part.' Sometimes for the same project. Sometimes I go, 'Oh yeah we are going to bring him in for this project down the road.' So you know what I mean, you always bring your A game to every audition. And you don't get it, you don't get it. There's a million factors that go into the casting process."
Today’s episode is a sit down with Casting Director Lisa London. Lisa has been a Casting Director for 30 plus years and has cast over a 100 successful film and television shows. Along with her business partner, Catherine Stroud, they have cast many notable actors and actresses at the beginning of their careers who have all gone on to become stars; such as Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana, Jonah Hill in Grandma’s Boy, Emma Stone, Katharine McPhee and Kat Dennings in House Bunny, Selena Gomez in two Disney pilots - What’s Stevie Thinking and Arwin, Jennifer Aniston in her first feature, Leprechaun, Mark Ruffalo in the CBS series, Due South, Brad Pitt in an episode of the series, Freddy’s Nightmares, Megan Hilty, Adrian R. Mante, Cierra Ramirez and Joey King in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Yara Shahidi in her first television series, The First Family and Noah Centineo in a Disney pilot, Growing Up and Down.
In today's conversation Matt and Lisa discuss what it takes to be a successful working actor and how to leave an impression while enjoying the process of being an actor.
Lisa's Book, From Start to Stardom: The Casting Director's Guide For Actors, is available now on Amazon.
Lisa's classes can be found on her website From Start to Stardom.
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:
45m - Nov 24, 2025 - Winning with Passion: Danny Lehr’s Formula for Lasting Success
"Are you really passionate about the thing? Or are you just excited about the opportunity? Because those are different, right? It's easy to get excited about an opportunity, but when you are just excited about an opportunity when it doesn't work out, you're going to stop trying as hard. But if you are passionate about the thing, then you will stay with it even when it gets hard. Because inevitably it's going to get hard. And you're going to have speed bumps and struggles. And so what's going to keep you going at those times is that you actually have to care about what you're doing; not just chasing something for fun."
Today’s episode is a sit down with Danny Lehr. A sought-after speaker, entrepreneur, author, and former competitive athlete who's obsessed with helping people accomplish their biggest dreams—one hour at a time.
As the founder of the iconic fitness brand Caffeine and Kilos, Danny has spent over 15 years studying the habits of Olympians, professional athletes, and 9-figure entrepreneurs, distilling their insights into his powerful W.I.N. formula. He has helped thousands finally get unstuck and start achieving real, lasting results.
In this conversation Matt and Danny dive into how to have long lasting success that is driven by passion. A great conversation for actors, creatives, and entrepreneurs who are looking to reach the next level.
Danny's Book, Win Your Next Hour, is available now on Amazon.
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:
31m - Nov 17, 2025 - Personal Development Coach Gavin McHale on Unlocking Our Subconscious Mind
"What I take from that if we go back to the day that Matt actually, the energy that Matt put into his audition and the way that he sent that in was, there was a level of not only confidence, but certainty that I'm right for this role. Like I'm right for this role. I know that I'm right for this role. And that beautiful little, "but", which often times we say "but" is a negation and it's not really a good thing. That, in my opinion and I'm literally kind of making this up not knowing what actually went down, it gave you just enough of a detachment to not put any pressure on yourself."
Today’s episode is a sit down with personal development coach Gavin McHale. Matt and Gavin dive into the power of letting go, having an abundance mindset, and how life on the road to the NHL was cut short by his self-defeating decision to hop into a brawl one night on the ice. Gavin's thoughtful approach to life and how to get out of his own way has led him to a successful business where he helps others to do the same.
Gavin's Book, Consciouspreneur: What To Do When The Hard Work Stops Working, is available now on Amazon.
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:
48m - Nov 10, 2025 - How To Power Through
"You don't feel like YES beating my chest everyday. But you kind of got to stick with it through all those slow days to get to the thing where there's a tipping point and it becomes this thing that is way bigger than you."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how to power through when things don't feel like they rapidly taking off. Everything in life is a process. It's important to enjoy the little moments throughout the entire journey. Sometimes it can feel like things are rapidly moving and other times it feels like nothing is happening. If you stay the course and take everything one step at a time, you will be amazed how much you can achieve.
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:
9m - Oct 27, 2025 - Your Life Is A Movie
"It's not what you are doing, it's how you are approaching it. So if you approach that job like an actor or writer, it's what I told Erin Galvin years ago when she was coming to my classes in LA and she was doing a temp job. And she would come in and start telling me about the thing and she was making us laugh. And I'm like that's the show, or movie, you should be writing!"
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how even when you are doing your side gig or side hustle, there's opportunity to be creative. Your personal life experiences outside of acting will feed you so much material if you choose to look for it. So even when you're at your job and wishing you were on set, remember that it is still serving you. Compile those funny stories, the crazy thing that happened during your shift, or how you boss treated you and use it to tell your next story. It can be funny, relatable, and most importantly uniquely yours to tell.
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:
4m - Oct 20, 2025 - Give Them A Show
"The other thing he said that I thought was interesting, because I don't do this, and I have prided myself on not doing this. They said he see's salesmanship as showmanship. And Steve Jobs was the same way. Whenever they put on a presentation, it is a show. You get publicity and it's a big splash. And I've always been like I don't want to do that I'll let my work speak for itself and they will eventually find me. And it's like, maybe, but you might be dead by then."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how it's important to market and brand ourselves in order to get our work seen. You can be the best actor in the world, but if you don't know how to properly market yourself no one will ever know. The commercialization of an actor's talent is a vital part of the process if your goal is to make money/a living as a working actor. We can often feel like it's our ego wanting attention if we are to self market ourselves, and it's important to keep that at bay, but it's also important to self advocate for yourself. It's OK, and necessary in this career, to let people know how great you are and what you have to offer.
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:
6m - Oct 13, 2025 - How To Have More Fun
"And then I kind of thought, huh, that's just the initial overwhelm when someone comes at you with a new bag of tools. There could be stuff that I bring up in these calls where you go, 'Oh Gosh, I don't know if I can add that to my life. When you first hear it that's the reaction, then when you settle with it and you go, 'OK, actually could this make things more fun?'"
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how it's always good to be re-evaluating our process and the systems we have in place. When new ideas are brought up to us we can initially want to push them away. It's human nature to resist change at times. Once we get past the initial overwhelm, we can explore how to make our systems and processes work better for us. This can lead to more happiness and better results. We can find more joy in our life when we release resistance and allow what's meant for us to flow in.
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:
5m - Oct 6, 2025 - When To Share Your Ideas
"I try and do my work behind closed doors. I think I used to show my work, but now I try and do my work behind closed doors. And then be like, 'Yeahhh! I'm just free and easy.' You know what I mean? And let them think you got lucky. Whereas I used to want to be like, 'Nooo, I worked so hard!" Now I'm like, let 'em think I just f***ing lucked out."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how it's important to protect your ideas before sharing them too quickly with people. Other people aren't always going to see what you see. If you share your idea too quickly a lot of people are going to shoot it down. Not because they don't want you to succeed, but they often believe they are protecting you. It's well intentioned, but not the best for allowing your ideas, stories, etc to blossom. Protect your creativity before it's ready to share with the world.
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:
8m - Sep 29, 2025 - Be Your Own Cheerleader
"I may as well be my best cheerleader, because the world's not gonna. It's not like the world is out to get you, it's just, as we say, there's so many people putting their hat in the ring for all these jobs, that it's just the way it is. It's just the way it is. Like you might not get seen. But if you translate that to something about you being wrong, that energy just chips away at you. The next one is not going to be as good."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss staying in the right mindset. Understanding that rejection is part of the game. If we can reframe each rejection and understand that it means we are one step closer to our "yes" than we have a much better shot at not giving up and achieving our goals. We have to be our own cheerleader and infuse positivity in order to buoy us when things may be harder than we might want in the moment.
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:
12m - Sep 22, 2025 - Be A Self Starter
"But if you have stuff that's the self starting stuff on the side, when you are in those periods of no work from the outside, you're not bummed about it. So your energy doesn't go down. Because I had Mickey Brasch, I wasn't bummed about being done with those other jobs."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how when you create your own work and have agency over your own art, it brings your power back. You, as a creative vessel, is now longer waiting for someone to give you permission to express yourself. You don't need permission. You are the permission. You can go and create your own art now!
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:
7m - Sep 15, 2025 - How To Organize Your Creativity
"I'm talking about theories and mindsets, and that's awesome, but what about tactical? How do you translate that to stuff that's in the real world that we all have to do? When you have a baby screaming on your arms on a Saturday and you have to do an audition tape. When you have a song in your head, but you're doing your day job and you can't write the song down and you can't riff and then it's gone by the time you go to sit down with it. Where's the advice for that?"
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how to organize and set up ourselves for success when we have creative ideas. It may not always be as exciting to put systems in place, but it's necessary in order to execute our creative ideas without losing spontaneity. This then allows us, as artists and humans, to reach an audience in order to impact or serve the world in some way.
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:
6m - Sep 8, 2025 - Celebrate Your Wins!
"It's better to share the good than to not celebrate the win because I don't want to make it seem like this is really great; It really is great. It's kind of nice. That's the reward of all the shit you put up with to get to that."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how our ego can get in the way of us celebrating ourselves. We must fall in love with the process instead of the results. The more we fall in love the process the better the results get. It's OK to celebrate that you've shown up and put your art, yourself, your passions, etc out there. You've got this!
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:
9m - Sep 1, 2025 - How Perspective Changes Your Life
"It's kind of like being an actor. That's what we do. You can play someone who is considered a monster, but you are not looking at them with the same lens that you might in a normal life. If you have to play them then you have to look at them from a detached viewpoint so that you can get inside their perspective and defend it. And the only way to do that is if you don't judge it, but you just try to observe it and understand it, and then place yourself within it."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss how important perspective is when you are dealing with resistance in life. When problems arise, you can ask yourself what is this here to teach me in this moment? You are no longer becoming a victim to a circumstance and instead approaching it with a growth mindset. This simple change of perspective can unlock the doors you need in order to grow and achieve your goals.
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:
6m - Aug 25, 2025 - How To Be A Professional Creative
"How to we go from just being someone who occasionally feels things and sporadically creates them to someone who can do this on a professional level? Where there's both a consistency and still a spontaneity and an authentic desire to express yourself."
Today’s episode was ripped directly from one of our 10,000 NOs Working Actors Community weekly zooms where Matt addresses the challenges that face our members. Today, we discuss creativity and how to create a system that allows us to be an artist professionally. Matt references Rick Rubin and his view on art in the world and the marketplace. He talks about how our art is a reflection of who we are in the world in that moment. No one's art is better than someone else's. If you don't create it, then no one will. This thought process and view on art allows us to stop comparing ourselves to others. It can be the key to unlocking new ideas and allows us to not shut down when we feel inferior to other people's art. You never know how someone will view your art. It may be the next "great" thing.
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:
7m - Aug 18, 2025
