This is about actor's who made bad decisions regarding their work as ACTORS. Such as refusing one acting role (that was picked up by another actor who had major success with it) and taking another one which may have ruined their career or at the very least set it back.

That sounds like Jerry Van Dyke, who turned down roles in both "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gilligan's Island" so that he could star in "My Mother The Car".