A big obstacle for actresses of a certain age (mine, for example) is too often being relegated to roles as disempowered characters, even though the world reflects a very different reality and the majority of casting agents (and now many directors and producers) are women.
You would think that they would make the connection that if a 55-year-old man can play the "powerful person in charge," so can a 55-year-old woman. Not so. If a woman is cast as a district attorney, for example, she'll more often be 27 and chosen for reasons other than her credibility as a D.A. (Which brings to mind Danny DeVito in Norman Jewison's 1991 Other People's Money, opposite Penelope Ann Miller as the D.A. and his love interest. I think Norman Jewison is terrific, as are both actors, but Miller looked like she was 12 at the time and, yes, the pairing was cringe-worthy.)
In acting, what I see being offered to older actresses are roles as little old ladies in track suits and sneakers, mothers with no defined personality, or women who are in some way objects of pity. That hardly fits someone like me (and I'm no exception) who is nearly 6 feet tall in high heels, just appeared on stage in a negligee, and still gets whistled at on the street by young guys driving pickup trucks (last night, in fact! Tah-dah!) Look at E. Katherine Kerr as Senator Grace Comisky in the 1987 film Suspect. She had personality. She was tough. Her character beds a younger Dennis Quaid, credibly, and without all this self-conscious, painted up "cougar" business.
To get the meatier roles, I first have to make sure my audition monologues reflect the roles I'm after and I sometimes have to plant a few seeds, i.e. approach producers/directors/screenwriters and ask if their senator, doctor, CEO or other gender-neutral role wouldn't work just as well with a woman of the same age in the part. (Let's face it, the only role a woman definitely can't play is "father.")
The short film I just finished, for example - The Monopoly Club - was originally written for a male Senator. The director changed her mind when she saw me in an open call audition doing my scene from Virtuosity. I've improved the presentation of that brief monologue over the years, but it still works for me.
I guess the point is that older actresses can't sit back and bemoan the fact that there aren't as many good roles being offered to them. You need to get out and network, introduce yourself to filmmakers who are creating the kinds of films and roles you want. Many times they're fixed on the casting as is, but every now and then you get a taker.
You would think that they would make the connection that if a 55-year-old man can play the "powerful person in charge," so can a 55-year-old woman. Not so. If a woman is cast as a district attorney, for example, she'll more often be 27 and chosen for reasons other than her credibility as a D.A. (Which brings to mind Danny DeVito in Norman Jewison's 1991 Other People's Money, opposite Penelope Ann Miller as the D.A. and his love interest. I think Norman Jewison is terrific, as are both actors, but Miller looked like she was 12 at the time and, yes, the pairing was cringe-worthy.)
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| E. Katherine Kerr as Sen. Grace Comisky |
To get the meatier roles, I first have to make sure my audition monologues reflect the roles I'm after and I sometimes have to plant a few seeds, i.e. approach producers/directors/screenwriters and ask if their senator, doctor, CEO or other gender-neutral role wouldn't work just as well with a woman of the same age in the part. (Let's face it, the only role a woman definitely can't play is "father.")
The short film I just finished, for example - The Monopoly Club - was originally written for a male Senator. The director changed her mind when she saw me in an open call audition doing my scene from Virtuosity. I've improved the presentation of that brief monologue over the years, but it still works for me.
I guess the point is that older actresses can't sit back and bemoan the fact that there aren't as many good roles being offered to them. You need to get out and network, introduce yourself to filmmakers who are creating the kinds of films and roles you want. Many times they're fixed on the casting as is, but every now and then you get a taker.
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