I am not beautiful.Hold on – this isn’t a self-esteem thing. I’m talking about in my acting career.
I know I have a beautiful heart and spirit. Seriously, I can run beautiful on the inside circles around most human beings on the planet. And I love myself completely and wholly.
But I’m not beautiful. Not by Hollywood standards. Stunning, gorgeous, and breathtaking are not words used to describe my appearance by people who don’t know me personally. Cute, maybe. Pretty in an average kind of way.
Because if they’re casting an Asian-American woman to play Ryan Reynold’s love interest, my headshot is not going to make the cut next to these ladies –-
These ladies are beautiful - no doubt about it. And good for them!
I think about Louis CK’s comedy bit about being white --
My argument’s the same. I’m not saying that beautiful people are better, but being beautiful is clearly better – who could even argue? Beautiful actresses have more acting opportunities than I do. They get to play scream queens and objects of desire and they get to kiss the leading man.
But you know what? I’m totally okay with not being a beautiful actress, because I’ve found my niche for now – doctors, nurses, & reporters. I’m a smart-sounding actress – plenty of beautiful actresses can’t sound smart – that’s my biggest asset.
All this being said, let it be known that I fully plan on being seen as a beautiful actress someday. I will break out of my comfortable niche and do amazing acting work that will change the way people see me. The world will someday look past my nerdy exterior and see me as an object of desire.I’ll even get to kiss the leading man. Someday.
as flattered as i am to be on your "hot list" i'm here to say that even i've been told on numerous occasions i'm not pretty enough. it never bothers me, though, b/c since i was 5 my mom has always taught me how fleeting the physical stuff is. i love how the standards of beauty change with time, and depending on who's looking. plus, b/c you're also a writer - YOU ARE HOLLYWOOD! you decide.
ReplyDeleteYes, your picture here was purely a compliment - I think you're gorgeous. We could write a whole post about the ridiculousness of the statement "not pretty enough" - like it can be measured like one of those things outside a roller coaster that tells you if you're tall enough to ride the ride. "You must be *this* pretty to work in Hollywood!" BS to the max...
DeleteAnd yes, we're both writers, which means we are creating our own Hollywood! Woo hoo! :)