Full disclosure: this phrase started off a little click-baity.

“Work to 99%” popped into my head as a blog title before it was fully formed as a concept. I wanted people to stop and read it or at least form a sense of mystery or whatever it is that makes people like you through the internet.

But then the more I sat with it, the more I realized it actually captured something pretty strong...

When I say prepare to 99%, I want to offer three ways of looking at that idea:
1. What it means in your personal preparation
2. What it means in auditions or coaching
3. What it means once you’re on set

Each phase asks something slightly different of you but they all come back to the same core... “Work to 99%”

As an actor

First things first: no self-respecting actor ever truly prepares to 100%. The big 100%.

It’s not possible.

There is always more to uncover. Another layer. Another discovery. Another angle you didn’t see yesterday. In life, we don’t hit 100% on anything until our final breath and then we’re dead. That’s 100%. Until then, we’re always learning, always experiencing.

Acting works the same way.

You can work to what feels like 100%, discover something that adds 20%, and you’re still just at a new 99%. Then you work another 30% deeper and you’re still at 99%. Again and again.

Stay hungry, stay curious, keep exploring. Because you’ll never reach 100%.

In auditions and coaching

Now here’s where the phrase really earns its keep.

You worked to 99%. And the missing 1%? That’s intentional.

That 1% is room for play. Room for affectability. Room for today being different than yesterday.

If you walk into an audition, a coaching session with “100%” ready to go, you’ve left no space to actually be affectable.

You’re in the “get it right” phase. The “earn a gold star” loop.

So try showing up with the 99% mentality. It doesn’t mean you’re losing what you worked on. It means you trust your 99% enough to let something else in.

That 1% is for:
- A CD’s adjustment
- A coach’s question
- A reader who throws the scene at you differently than you imagined
- You waking up a different person than you were yesterday

All of that is true in the moment. And that truth is what rounds out the 100% today.

You’re not replacing your work. You’re completing it together, in real time.

On Set

Now let’s say you book it. (Because you’re awesome.)

When you show up on set, you still bring your 99%. (And this part matters a lot.)

They hired you because you are the right person for the job. Period. Full stop. Amen forever and ever.

Do you know how many people auditioned? How many tapes they watched? The puzzle pieces that had to fit together for you to land this?

The numbers are astronomical.

You’re there because they trust YOU to tell the story. That might sound bold, but it’s true. You earned that trust through your preparation.

So bring your 99%. And then... seek the final 1% on set.

The costume isn’t what you expected? That’s true now.
The set looks different than you imagined? That’s true now.
Your scene partner gives you something new every take? That’s true now.

Each department brings their 99% and, together, you’re building toward the 100% of the story.

Even when a director comes in with big ideas, they’re not asking you to dilute your 99% to make room for theirs.

They’re asking you to include their perspective so that your new 99% is richer, fuller, and more alive than before.

And that continues all day. Take by take. Adjustment by adjustment. The day isn’t done until it’s done.

Once you understand this, that final 1% becomes something you actively seek, not something you wait for.

You’re curious. Open. Engaged. Playing.

In auditions and coaching, there is always an opportunity to accept who you are today and collaborate toward something truer right now.

On set, bring your 99% (that got you there) and actively invite the final 1% so that, together, everyone reaches the fullest version of the story.

Prepare to 99%. Trust it. Protect it. And stay open enough to let that last 1% change you.

If this resonates, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s keep the conversation going.

See you soon.
-J