Nairobi, July 23 -- Talent, Emmanuel Mugo says, has never been the hardest part of acting.

Rejection is.

Before working on the second season of The Agency, the American spy thriller television series featuring Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere, Mugo spent years navigating failed auditions, financial uncertainty and long stretches without work.

Those setbacks, he says, became the foundation of a career that has taken him from a Tahidi High extra to one of Kenya's most experienced stunt performers on international productions.

"There has been a lot of learning, a lot of connecting with fellow artistes and learning from them, but there has also been rejection. You can be very good and still not get the role."

For many aspiring actors,...