Dead Eyes

Dead Eyes is created by Connor Ratliff and chronicles his quest to discover why Tom Hanks fired him from Band of Brothers twenty years earlier, telling Ratliff he had dead eyes. The show began as a seemingly narrow investigation into one actor's personal rejection but evolved into a profound exploration of career disappointment, resilience, identity, and the meaning we attach to our professional setbacks. The podcast is serialized personal nonfiction that unfolds across multiple seasons, with Season 3 culminating in Ratliff finally interviewing Tom Hanks himself about the incident. The show has been widely acclaimed for its humor, emotional honesty, and the way it transforms a specific personal story into a universal meditation on rejection, perseverance, and self-worth in creative professions.

The podcast blends narrative storytelling with interviews, featuring conversations with fellow actors, directors, casting professionals, and others who help Ratliff process his experience and explore broader questions about the nature of acting careers and the impact of rejection. Ratliff's approach is self-deprecating and genuinely vulnerable, acknowledging the absurdity of fixating on a decades-old firing while also honoring the real pain and confusion the experience caused. Episodes vary in length and tone, with some focused on advancing the central investigation and others exploring tangential but related questions about acting, success, and failure. The show's production values are professional, with careful editing and pacing that support the narrative and emotional arc of each season. The humor throughout is intelligent and character-based rather than cheap or defensive, allowing the podcast to address serious emotional territory without becoming maudlin or self-indulgent.

Ideal for actors who have experienced significant career disappointments and want to feel less alone in their struggles with rejection, self-doubt, and the challenge of maintaining identity and self-worth in an industry built on constant evaluation and frequent dismissal. The show is particularly valuable for actors who tend to fixate on specific rejections or moments of failure, as Ratliff's exploration of his own fixation provides both catharsis and perspective on how we tell ourselves stories about our careers. The podcast's honest examination of the emotional dimensions of acting careers — the disappointments, the comparisons to peers, the what-ifs and sliding-doors moments — makes it essential listening for anyone navigating the psychological challenges of creative work. The show also offers insight into the randomness and subjectivity of casting decisions, which can help actors take rejection less personally even when it feels deeply personal.

Free on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. The complete series is available for binge-listening, allowing new listeners to experience the full narrative arc across all seasons without waiting for weekly releases.

Highly recommended for actors who need to feel understood in their experiences of rejection and career disappointment. The show's central question — why did this happen to me, and what does it mean — is one that most actors ask themselves at some point, and Ratliff's investigation offers a framework for processing such questions with humor, curiosity, and self-compassion rather than bitterness or despair. What sets Dead Eyes apart from general self-help or motivational content is its specificity and honesty — Ratliff does not pretend the firing did not matter or that he should just move on, but rather investigates why it mattered so much and what that reveals about how actors construct their identities and measure their worth. For actors who carry their own versions of the dead eyes story — a humiliating audition, a devastating firing, a cruel piece of feedback — this podcast provides validation that such experiences are genuinely painful and that investigating them rather than suppressing them can lead to growth and insight. The show also offers a masterclass in turning personal vulnerability into compelling narrative, which is relevant for actors interested in creating their own content or developing solo performance work.

Dead Eyes is completely free on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. The show is produced by Headgum, a podcast network, but all episodes are freely available without subscription or paywall. The complete archive allows listeners to experience the full narrative journey across multiple seasons, providing dozens of hours of content at no cost. For actors dealing with career disappointment who cannot afford therapy or coaching to process their experiences, the podcast offers a form of vicarious processing that can be genuinely therapeutic and perspective-shifting. The free accessibility ensures that the show's insights about rejection, resilience, and self-worth are available to actors regardless of their financial circumstances, which is particularly important given that financial insecurity often compounds the emotional difficulty of career challenges.

Actors who have experienced significant career disappointments and who tend to fixate on specific rejections or moments of professional failure should listen to Dead Eyes for the validation, perspective, and ultimately catharsis it provides. The show is particularly valuable during difficult career periods when you are questioning your worth, your choices, or whether to continue pursuing acting — Ratliff's honesty about his own doubts and his ultimate perseverance can be deeply encouraging. If you are someone who processes emotions privately or who dislikes vulnerable self-disclosure, the podcast's confessional tone may feel uncomfortable rather than cathartic, and you may prefer more analytical or instructional resources. The show is also valuable for actors interested in creating narrative content about their own experiences, as it demonstrates how personal vulnerability can be shaped into compelling storytelling that resonates beyond the specific circumstances. Pair Dead Eyes with more practically focused career and technique resources to balance emotional processing with skill development and strategic action.

Listen to the full series in order from the beginning to experience the complete narrative arc and emotional journey — the show builds toward revelations and insights that are most powerful when you have followed the entire investigation. As you listen, consider your own career disappointments and the stories you have told yourself about them — are there rejections or failures you have fixated on, and what would it mean to investigate them with Ratliff's combination of curiosity, humor, and self-compassion? Use the podcast's exploration of rejection as an opportunity to examine whether you are taking casting decisions and professional feedback too personally or using them as evidence of your inadequacy rather than recognizing them as the subjective, often arbitrary outcomes they usually are. When Ratliff discusses the challenge of maintaining identity and self-worth as an actor who is not consistently working at the level he aspired to, honestly assess how your own sense of self is tied to external validation and career success, and consider whether you want to develop a more internally grounded sense of worth. Share the podcast with fellow actors and use it as a starting point for honest conversations about rejection, disappointment, and resilience — the collective vulnerability can create deeper connection and mutual support than surface-level professional networking.