I like interesting faces. Chris Cooper. William H. Macy. Vanessa Redgrave (magnificent.) Their faces carry the story of a lifetime - pain, joy, triumph, disappointment, survival. It isn't just age that makes a face memorable though. Nor does having an interesting face relegate an actor to character roles. My actor friend Erik Mueller has a face that is sweet, sad, and funny, a kind of everyman. An interesting face makes an actor fascinating to watch on screen.
Perfection is rather boring when you think about it. That's not just opinion speaking, there actually seems to be some scientific basis for it. Fashion models are held to certain standards of physical beauty because we are meant to look at the clothes. Designers actually want the models themselves to fade into the background, and they do! It is only when something mars that perfection - a gap in the teeth, a mole on the cheek - that a model becomes known by name.
But when I look at "up and coming" actors - especially on television - I am struck by their homogenized and lovely sameness, made worse for the men by the ubiquitous three-day beard. (Isn't that fad over yet?) Unlined faces. No stories. How hard it must be to break out of the pack if you look like a thousand others.
British television does a much better job of casting people who look real and that may be why I recognize more British actors by name. The Brits have this odd idea that you can be middle-aged, balding, dumpy, have acne, bags under your eyes and less-than-perfect teeth and still carry a show. In fact, a woman can be a bit zaftig and have a bad scar on her arm and have one hit series after another. (Amanda Redman. What a babe!) It isn't just that the Brits are better actors, although it is generally agreed that they are, it's that the physical expectations are different.
This is what I was trying to wrap my head around after talking to Richard Cutting, who contacted me a few weeks ago about auditioning for this terrific web series he's getting off the ground. He said he thought that older women were an untapped resource in film and television, that they had viewpoints and stories (gravitas, as they say in Washington, which I believe means something like serious credibility.) I think older actors in general are an untapped resource these days and, with few exceptions, Hollywood hasn't yet figured out how to mine it.
So I'm starting a list of actors so good I would pay to see them read the Yellow Pages (see column at right.) Just their name at the top of the credits will induce me to take out my wallet and buy a ticket. I will add more later.
Busy day sending out headshots, which is something for another post.
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| Erik Mueller |
Perfection is rather boring when you think about it. That's not just opinion speaking, there actually seems to be some scientific basis for it. Fashion models are held to certain standards of physical beauty because we are meant to look at the clothes. Designers actually want the models themselves to fade into the background, and they do! It is only when something mars that perfection - a gap in the teeth, a mole on the cheek - that a model becomes known by name.
But when I look at "up and coming" actors - especially on television - I am struck by their homogenized and lovely sameness, made worse for the men by the ubiquitous three-day beard. (Isn't that fad over yet?) Unlined faces. No stories. How hard it must be to break out of the pack if you look like a thousand others.
British television does a much better job of casting people who look real and that may be why I recognize more British actors by name. The Brits have this odd idea that you can be middle-aged, balding, dumpy, have acne, bags under your eyes and less-than-perfect teeth and still carry a show. In fact, a woman can be a bit zaftig and have a bad scar on her arm and have one hit series after another. (Amanda Redman. What a babe!) It isn't just that the Brits are better actors, although it is generally agreed that they are, it's that the physical expectations are different.
This is what I was trying to wrap my head around after talking to Richard Cutting, who contacted me a few weeks ago about auditioning for this terrific web series he's getting off the ground. He said he thought that older women were an untapped resource in film and television, that they had viewpoints and stories (gravitas, as they say in Washington, which I believe means something like serious credibility.) I think older actors in general are an untapped resource these days and, with few exceptions, Hollywood hasn't yet figured out how to mine it.
So I'm starting a list of actors so good I would pay to see them read the Yellow Pages (see column at right.) Just their name at the top of the credits will induce me to take out my wallet and buy a ticket. I will add more later.
Busy day sending out headshots, which is something for another post.
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| "Real" Housewives: A lovely sameness |
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