What do you do if your first big break is equivalent to Jennifer Aniston in “Leprechaun”? If you really don’t connect to the film and have a hard time respecting the role, do you pass, or play because everyone has to start somewhere?

Working is a good thing. Unless it's a role that requires you to compromise your values, it would suggest that you take it. You will learn a lot; no matter how bad the role or script. Perhaps you will learn how to make the most of a bad script, or how to work with a bad director. The experience may just be priceless.

Besides, if it is really that bad, no one will see it and your reputation will be unstained.

Good luck with your decision.

Best,

Ron

Not knowing more information makes it tough, but if this is a studio picture or a film with recongnizable actors, I say jump on it.

Work begets work.

Who knows, maybe the director will want to cast you in his/her next film as the lead - and maybe it'll even be a film worth doing. Maybe the producer has six OTHER projects in development and decides to cast you in one. Maybe one of the other actors has a script he/she's producing and the two of you are meant to take it to Sundance.

There's lots of maybes there, but you won't know unless you leap. If this is something you are *morally* opposed to, by all means proceed with caution. But, don't think that the perfect role is waiting around some other corner, because it just may be at the end of a road you weren't planning on taking.

Break a leg!

You're probably in the wrong business if you think you will "respect" and "have a hard time connecting" to the majority of your gigs unless you're writing, producing, editing and distributing them yourself. Or you have total creative control.

Advice here is great--if the role doesn't compromise your values and the production treats you with basic respect/professionalism, and doing it doesn't keep you from other work, go for it. As Ron says it is great training to work on bad material and try to make something good in the midst of it. Most of the scripts you work on, as Csilvera says, won't be thrilling to you....and hey, it didn't hurt Jen...

Thank you to all for the positive feedback. Bottom line, I will be challenged which makes the experience invaluable. And if I am ever lucky enough to work consistently and be a recognizable actor, then I'll just smile to myself when answering questions about "that first movie".

Don't forget that actors don't always know what's a good part. I know I've read examples in English, but just now I can only think of the hit French film "La Cage Aux Folles" (The Birdcage). Apparently one of the leads kept muttering "What a piece of..." all through the whole shoot.