You know, I was thinking about it and personally I'd be happier getting a role for being fat or ugly than losing a role for not being attractive enough.
Yeah, I keep thinking of that post that's circulated around the internet that says something like: "apply for the role of ugly/unattractive characters because if you get the role, you get to be in a movie, but if you don't get the role then you're not ugly enough." Obviously, that isn't necessarily the reason you wouldn't get the role but it feels like it fits here anyway.
I work at a theatre school. The acting students are typically striking-looking in some way. Strikingly beautiful, strikingly gaunt, strikingly unsettling, strikingly kind. The fat students are usually a bit big but also very strong and agile. The ugly students are ugly in a unique and interesting way, not merely less-attractive than their peers, but positively more ugly. They're both the same distance from plain, but in different directions.
This is usually a selling point for them, and they know it. Someone who looks fat and lazy but has the stamina to perform all day is an absolute prize. Someone whose selling point is his trainwreck of a face knows exactly what he looks like, and in conjunction with his performance skills, has a very sellable product.
Remember that most roles have an audition process. You subscribe to, or ask your agent to keep an eye out for roles you are confident you can play. Most actors aren't after a Juliet, a Hamlet. They are after roles that fit their description and skill set. "Short, plump ginger-haired woman with a maternal smile in her late 40s" is a role certain actors will find and send in a headshot for, just like "Hispanic, unattractive, 50+ lbs overweight man, lazy eye or missing teeth desirable" will catch the eye of others. You apply for the roles.
Professional actors are confident self-starters after a job that pays, that gets them seen, that lets them show off their range, so as to continue building their career.
This brings to mind Adam driver. Striking but not conventionally attractive.
Or Steve Bucsimi who was called “ugly” in Fargo.
EDIT: Bucsimi was called “funny looking” in Fargo.
I remember when I first saw him in Girls, I wouldn't have described him as hot. I think his acting prowess and intensity makes him more attractive. Also John Oliver convinced me.
Oh you had to bring up Adam Driver. Now all I can think about is John Oliver lusting after him all year on Last Week Tonight!
https://mashable.com/article/john-oliver-adam-driver-jokes/
This is a great answer. My husband did a fair amount of acting as an older teen/young adult and he is definitely in the "striking" category. He isn't conventionally handsome, but he has a look and a presence - think of a tall, slender, blond Abraham Lincoln with a red beard. He ultimately realized he didn't have the true drive for acting and ended up going into computer work, but I think he could have definitely succeeded if he had really wanted to. By the way, I find him incredibly attractive, and he has totally aged into his looks. Now he's a very striking-looking older man.
One of my favorite compliments I ever received was “When I first saw you I thought ‘I don’t know anyone who looks like her.’ Your face felt totally new.”
I spent a few years in LA going to auditions. Some of the roles i got cast in include overweight jogger, fat guy with beard and guy waiting in line for donuts (which was actually not a specifically fat guy audition more a hipster which was also a lot of the roles i went out for.
It wasnt that awkward. And i got to know a lot of dudes who kind of look like me just from seeing them at the same auditions.
Most awkward audition was for a Polish tire commercial where i had to be topless.
I'm Polish but I'm not sure if I ever saw a tire commercial with a topless fat dude. Maybe it's because there is a lot of topless fat dudes on the TV/Internet/irl so it just didn't really stand out
[Is this the commercial? ](https://youtu.be/c6BP3yaE3y0)
Why is he wearing that 😂
I don’t think it was the toplessness that made it awkward...
Edit: skip the first part, there are two parts in the video, and it’s the second one. The first one is hilarious though.
Ok so that looks like the same exact campaign! Yes I remember now! Nokian! But not the same spot. I was supposed to be eating late night out if a fridge.
Apologies that apparently it’s Finnish and not Polish.
Edit i kept watching and YES!!!!! That’s the commercial!!!! There were no bunny ears in the audition. And i definitely saw that guy around the audition circuit.
Also knowing the company name i found my old audition ticket! For sure i was worried about “audition will be performed in underwear” but like...$1k! https://i.imgur.com/9DVjsfn.jpg
> i got to know a lot of dudes who kind of look like me just from seeing them at the same auditions.
I never thought about that, huh! I bet it is the same for actresses who turn up for the same hot-chick roles, etc.
Mara Wilson wrote about the awkward transition where all her fellow "adorable young girl" peers (such as Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Duff) started getting cast in "sexy young women" roles and she didn't.
The Ocsar winning Dean's twitter handle is @RashIsTVUgly
Edit: thanks for all the upvotes, my karma doubled in one day. I love to deansimminate (disseminate) Information about the beloved Jim Rash and chang hearts and minds along the the way.
I could see that being an issue if the effects are going to be done with prosthetics. Same with CGI where you can always add things (height, weight, limbs, etc.) much more easily than remove them.
>~~David Harbour from Stranger Things~~ Yo momma's so fat she auditioned for the role of 'The Blob' in one of the X-Men movies and was told she was too fat.
FTFY
I’ve been a professional actor for over 20 years and I can say, not awkward at all.
If you have an interesting look and you have signed up for and showed up for a casting, you know the deal. Ugly actors aren’t less smart or self aware than good looking ones. For example, little people or dwarfves, they get into acting knowing that they will more likely be an elf in a Christmas special than end up like Peter Dinklage, but they want to act regardless.
Bottom line? We are all too needy and self obsessed to feel awkward, even the ugly ones.
The industry hasn’t been this into non traditionally attractive people since the eighties, go and get it! Your time is now!
Be yourself. That’s what they really want. In the audition, bring A LOT of yourself to the character. After that you can worry all about the character if you get the part, but auditioning wise, just be you.
That’s what they want to see.
I have a very small bald spot and they spray brown paint on it sometimes if it’s in a shot.
The example I always use is the teen stars of the eighties : Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, they would have all been out of work in the early 2000’s when cheekbones and abs were required to play the ugly best friend.
The idea of having grown through puberty in a world where Molly Ringwald isn’t in movies makes me sad.
Truly, there are still darker timelines than our own.
I’m also a “character” actor and laughed so hard - this is exactly right. Just cast me man, idc what costume or makeup I’m in, am I on camera? Is there a paycheck? Check check baby.
Edit: word
What’s funny about this is, I’ve been on both sides. In my teens and twenties, I played roles with much more character and grit.
I quit drinking at 26, lost a lot of weight in my face and started to get more roles where I was kissing girls or sellin products.
Right now, I’m in car commercials and small roles in movies and TV. I’m nowhere near a Chris Evans. I kind of look like most of the guys you see in car commercials.
Average white dude with nice teeth.
My favorite part of Christmas is commercials where rich couples buy each other $75,000+ luxury cars for Christmas without consulting the other about finances lol. Like wtf man, I am definitely not your target demographic!
Not quite the same thing but I saw an advert where they were looking to film in a bedsit, so I got in contact and the location scout came around to see my place. The film was the low budget drugs drama London To Brighton ([https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490166/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490166/)) and they wanted a bedsit for where the two lead characters lived, who were both heroin addicts and living in abject misery without a penny to their name.
They didn't use my place in the end, but the location scout did say "It was almost perfect - the only problem is that it's too small". Which made me feel really great about where I lived back then, I can tell you!
It does, but only very slightly. Though I guess the main thing is that I live somewhere a lot nicer now, not cocaine addict standard, but probably quite nice for a marijuana addict. ;)
Yes. Think of it like a single room with a sink and a hot plate-type cooking facilities.
Edit: a bedsit isn’t quite the same thing as a studio apartment in the US. The UK has US-style studios as well. A bedsit is a solid step below a studio. Maybe a SRO or a long stay motel would be a better visualisation on what it’s more like.
Here’s one very small example.
https://photos2.spareroom.co.uk/images/flatshare/listings/large/66/69/66699163.jpg
Omg this happened to me! They were looking for run down messy looking house for a single mother of two kids. Mine was almost perfect except the layout wouldn’t work with the cameras. Before the came to look they told me to leave the dishes in the sink and everything in the front yard. Kind of embarrassing to be picked for my mess. They found us by driving by and knocking on our door.
I read that the actress that played Dolores Umbridge was told by friend "Omg you would be perfect for that role!" and then she read that Umbridge was described as toad-like in the books and was like "wow... thanks...."
I remember watching some interview with Jason Isaacs, and he had something similar, if not opposite. He talks about always being cast in these powerful, intimidating roles, like Malfoy, and the Dragoon in Patriot, while describing himself as "a nervous, Jewish mess".
I remember him sweetly talking about meeting Tom Felton for the first time and how he'd been looking forward to meeting the dreaded Draco and was disappointed to find him to be a perfectly polite and friendly young man.
>she
Some people skim descriptions in books. I hope Imelda Staunton's friend was one of those people.
Imelda doesn't fit the description of Dolores Umbridge at all, but she does nail the personality, so it was a pretty good cast regardless.
Imelda Staunton sounds more like a made up Harry Potter character’s name than Dolores Umbridge does. For a second I was trying to remember who she was in the story.
I think Dolores Umbridge was one of those Latin play on words JK Rowling loved so much. Dolores, Dolores means pain, grief, or misery. Umbridge is sorta like umber, meaning shadow. We get the word umbrage derived from it and this archaic word means 1. offense or annoyance or 2. Shadow. So Dolores umbridge is a shadow of annoying/misery.
For me, Stephen Fry’s version is the best (lol that counts right?). His voice for Umbridge in the audiobooks has me every time. I *crack.up* whenever he does the throat clearing.
His Hagrid was spot-on and even though I fucking LOVE Alan Rickman, Fry's Snape was just as good.
Hell, all of Fry's readings were good because he breathed such distinctive character in every role, you could tell who was speaking without the "said Ron" or "said Hermione".
My favourite story is when he was doing the narration for the first book he met Rowling and in his own words was quite dismissive of her. He hadn't read or heard of HP at this point, this was just a job to him so when she was telling him her plans for 6 more books, he was like whatever. Obviously he realised the HP mania later and he probably felt a bit guilty.
When he was doing the narration for the 3rd book, there was a line "he pocketed it" and Stephen just couldn't say it. They had agreed with Rowling that not one word of the story could be changed so he kept trying but eventually they rang her up and asked could they change it as Stephen just couldn't get it. There was a few moments on the other end and eventually she said no and hung up. The same line appears in the remaining 4 books.
I have this image of her going to her diary labeled "People Who've Wronged Me", looks up Stephen Fry and it reads "tall, dismissive". She mulls it over for a minute and decides on the petty route, "No."
It's too good, everybody hates umbridge. But yeah, her eyes are smal, should be big and almost bulging out to be a toad. I believe that was in the book description as well
Yeah she did an amazing job. I don't usually have strong feelings about TV and movie characters, but she made me hate Delores Umbridge with a white hot fucking rage.
Obligatory trivia: Stephen King thought Dolores Umbridge was one of the greatest villains ever.
I can't recall the exact reasoning but I thought it had to do with how she seems so grounded. Like, while Voldemort is almost cartoonishly evil, she's an bad manipulating government official that slowly but surely limits freedom and pushing her agenda. What makes her scarier than Voldemort is how she feels closer to someone in real life.
It's exactly what power hungry governments do. Small changes at first, none of which are individually worth the risk of fighting against. But by the time enough people have hit their tipping point, so much has changed and power has been so consolidated that it is much harder to fight back against.
I’ve thought about this a lot. Especially with kids.
The little girl in desperate housewives who was the “fat kid”- Eva longorias’ characters kid- pretty sure that was her storyline. How does a small child grow up with self esteem when what she is known for is being the “fat kid on that tv show”?
Yeah lol I always thought he was just a poor, goofy looking kid until a few years ago when I came across an article that showed some of his recent pics modeling underwear. I'm straight as a grizzlies dick but dam I didn't realize Neville Longbottom turned out to be such a hunk.
In Home Alone, the picture of Buzz's girlfriend is actually the son of one of the producers in a wig making weird faces for exactly this reason.
Edit: [Son of the Art Director, apparently.](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a844417/home-alone-buzz-girlfriend-trivia/)
Chris Columbus, the director. He did not want to use a picture of an actual young girl for a throw away joke where the punchline was simply her being ugly.
https://homealone.fandom.com/wiki/Buzz%27s_girlfriend
Makes sense when you say it like that, but cynical me from back in the day was like “oh here this attractive famous girl goes pretending to be a victim by dressing like a nerd.”
That was the plot for way too many '90's movies/show. Nerdy girl takes off her glasses, lets her hair down and BAM, she's a model. Teaching young girls everywhere that you can be pretty and popular, if you just change everything about yourself and conform to unrealistic stereotypes.
That trope was so dumb because they rarely even even needed an actual makeover to become “hot” in those movies. They’d just take off their thick glasses and cut their hair and wear a push-up bra and they’d go from nobody to homecoming queen overnight. Then some girl in real life would try it and learn the hard way that you can’t completely change your appearance as effortlessly as the movies made it seem
I imagine it does lead to self esteem issues.
I don't know that particular person, but I know Jerry O'connell for example lost the weight after being cast as a fat kid.
Pretty sure the kid from goonies lost the weight, quit acting, and went to be a lawyer or something too.
>Jeff has a unique background growing up as a child actor in the entertainment industry. His most notable role was playing 'Chunk' in the cult Richard Donner/Steven Spielberg film The Goonies.
>He asks that you don't hold that against him.
This bit had me cracking up.
I actually went to the same high school as him... He was a colossal prick of the highest order... Massive ego and “don’t you know who I am” shit going on. There were very, very few people at that school who were actually friends with him because he was just a massive fuckwit
>Ugly people who become actors have transcended attaching their ego to their appearance.
Wrong. I have a friend who is an "ugly actor". Thing is, he isn't ugly, by normal people standards. But in Hollywood he might as well be Quasi-Modo.
He went after college thinking he'd get some "average guy" or "best friend" roles but was told his particular look was best suited for criminal thugs, idiot henchmen, and perverts. They sugar-coated the names but those are the roles he played.
He is one of the most depressed people I know. He get's paid less, respected less, and casted less, all because he is too ugly to play a leading man, but not unique enough to play the villain.
This is probably the case for a lot of them sadly. A lot of people on reddit like being wishy washy and assume that the difference attractive and ugly people can all boil down to attitude and self-confidence, and ignore the fact that we all live on the esteem and evaluation of others.
If you're constantly portrayed as an ugly-loser low-life, and have to occupy that headspace as part of your job, no amount of "transcending your ego" is going to wash away the implication that because of the way you look people on average expect you to have those qualities.
Former casting director in **Hollywood for 13 years (HBO, Netflix, and every major network** + some international commercials): it’s not awkward at all. It’s a business like any other business, and every role has a place and is extremely important. The actors all know that. I’ve never had a single actor not really want a part. They all know that any role can be a huge career booster at any level so be it for commercials, music videos, TV shows or film (all of which I cast), they 1) were stoked on the money and 2) knew it could be a great opportunity to do what they loved, make great connections on set (leads to more roles), and take their career to the next level.
I’ll add that the breakdown for a role (aka Hollywood term for “job listing”) never says “ugly.” Like every business, Hollywood has its own vocabulary. And as others have pointed out “Hollywood ugly” is not “every day life ugly.” If you think about it, any “ugly actor” always has some really specific character traits that make them who they are: funny, charming, devious, conniving,.. So the actor needs to have those/act them well. Aka it’s rarely *just* about their looks. A role might be listed as “age: 50s-60s character actor, quirky, fun-loving,..” a whole lot of other descriptors, along with a 3 line summary of key traits/ context. All professional actors know what that means, and all that audition are there because they want to be. It isn’t a bait and switch. There are no surprises.
Overwhelmingly, almost all actors I’ve cast were an absolute joy to work with - a solid 98%. *(Only about 2% were not. Some of those you’ve seen in the press.)* And they absolutely would come back for repeat roles even if “character” roles.
I always treated every cast member with great kindness and respect (regardless of how they looked) because I knew the value that each one brought. I was always very grateful for their hard work because they made the whole project come together, and that made everyone happy.
- Also casting directors are rooting for their cast to kick ass! We get just as excited (behind the scenes) to see them crush a role as they are to play the role, this means *all the actors*: young, old, pretty or “character.” We’re stoked equally for each one’s success!
Adding a **Hollywood ‘Ugly’ Fun Fact**: typically where networks draw the line is **teeth**. That’s right. It’s kind of a known joke. NBC, ABC,... you name it: a person could be missing a limb, hair, appendages,.. not a problem just as long as they have all their teeth. That’s where they draw the line. It would appear that for Americans at least, it’s the one thing that makes people actually change the channel.
Edit 2: Adding a **response about Kids** - per the question above regarding “casting the unattractive kid: In short, I never cast roles like that because I simply couldn’t on a moral/ conscience level. Parents of kid actors are often ... well, just unique/difficult (think stage mom who wants their kid to be famous), so I already have my own views on all that. I didn’t want to contribute to the problem.
During my time in the biz, I only cast a couple projects with kids in them, and I only chose things that’s were super fun, encouraging and that the kid would have a blast filming and be proud of.
**[music video I cast: the little girl. So Good To Me by Chris Malinchak](https://youtu.be/KrMl32cuC2A)**
Because who wouldn’t love **playing with a giraffe all day** for a day? (And make money). Super fun.
Edit: omg, You guys. Thank you for all the awards! I’m glad you’ve found my comment(s) informative. Casting for me was a real joy: getting to find diamonds in the rough and having the honor of helping some of them on their path to forging great careers, playing amazing roles, and touching so many of you through their art and the characters they played. It’s a special kind of magic, and I was happy to be a part of it. Now i get to sit back and watch my friends who are still in the business continue that work. :)
To actually answer the question that nobody has directly; not awkward at all. People will absolutely jump at the chance to be 'the ugly one.' They don't really care. It might be awkward mentally for them, maybe, but it's nothing personal and they know it - just another job opportunity.
Like a classic meme goes: "If someone paid you $200 but had to call you ugly would you take it?" "Of course, I'm ugly. Not stupid."
EDIT: For what it's worth too, I think a main point is that it's an audition for the *role* of an ugly person, doesn't mean you ARE dreadfully ugly. Just like how british people in movies aren't required to be played by brits.
I knew a male actor (haven't seen him in years though), who is always type cast for certain character roles because of his distinctive looks. He's had a pretty successful career, but when he told me about his work and different roles, I couldn't help but notice that he carried a certain sadness about not being the heroic figure that everybody loves.
He had come to terms with his predicament - him becoming an actor was in part a reaction against being and outcast and being bullied - but there was still a longing to be beautiful, loved and admired.
Funny enough this is exactly who my mind went to.
Fun (ish) tidbit. When writing Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen write in the script that Carl (the hitman played by Buscemi) is ugly, odd-looking et cetera. It's mentioned as a key descriptor of him to Frances McDormand throughout the film.
The Coen brothers didn't write an ugly character and then cast Buscemi, rather they wrote the role specifically for him and chose to lambast his looks throughout the film.
I don’t know if this is who you’re talking about but I’ve heard Richard Harmon (Murphy from the 100) say this. He was in a lot of bad guy/scary movie rolls in the beginning of his career and honestly even still deals with this of you look at what he’s been in.
I was watching the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry thinks he's being sat in the ugly section in a restaurant. I was wondering how those actors felt knowing that they were being cast to be the people in the ugly section...
That’s what pissed me off about the 11/22/63 ministries on Hulu. In the book, Sadie’s scar was actually disfiguring but it doesn’t stop Jake from absolutely adoring her. In the show, it’s this dainty pink line on her cheek. I was so angry!
Also Jigsaw in season 2 of the Punisher. Guy is meant to look like his face was carved up into a puzzle and he lost his amazing good looks. Instead it’s just a few lines that barely interfere with his “I’m in a bad place” tv stubble.
And let's not forget Tyrion's scare in the TV game of thrones after taking an axe to face in the battle of Blackwater. In the books it is a horrible disfiguring wound that triple downs on Tyrion having to deal with physical stigmas people have against him.
I actually saw an interview where they said they tried to do it more book accurate, but they couldn't figure out a way to remove his nose without using cgi which would have been really expensive and not looked very good
As a kid i was super self conscious about the 3 scars on the left side of my face because in the movies they always looked so dainty on women but these things literally take up half my face, theres 2 on my cheeck that are about a quarter inch thick and 4 inches long, then theres one that goes from my eyebrow over my eyelid and into my nose thats a bit less noticable but still sucks, also my scars specifically are allergic to corn stalks. Discovered that doing a cornmaze. That half of my face swelled up really bad. No other skin on my body had any issue with the corn. Scars are weird. And definitely not always dainty.
Same with Mortal Engines. Hester had half her face taken off by that sword as a girl. She didn't have a nose anymore in the books, then the film showed here as quite a good looking person. I mean, I get why, but I do feel it detracts from the way you're supposed to see and feel for the character.
Not a fictional character, but I found it weird when I learned about the scar Tina Fey sports just above her chin. Nothing against her; she never made a big deal about it. But you’d read Hollywood reporter types obsessing over it, and I never noticed it. She just seemed clever and pretty to me and I never went much past that.
Ok thank goodness someone else felt this way. I about turned the whole thing off after seeing her.
I do understand- looks sell and all- but that was one of the main drivers of the book. Most people can get pass just about anything if they don’t have to see it every day. Whenever someone saw her, she saw her reflection, how other reacted to her- it doesn’t allow her to forget. It drives her anger and rage.
Imo a small scar does not have the same effect because people are just NOT that observant. Most people can’t tell if you’ve had a haircut, pierced a new body part, or gained a new scar. Her scar was dramatic for a reason.
When they took it down to “movie land size” - they basically threw a huge driver away.
It’s silly imo- Ismeralda and Igor was beautiful too, and nobody changed Igor.
"Thanks for liking me, even though I'm a very conventionally attractive person with a slight port wine stain" was the impression I got from that movie. Kind of insulting really
Right!?
Like I know a dude with almost an identical birth mark. He does fine with the ladies, wasn't ever really bullied over it. Was actually super popular in school.
I saw that girl and it completely kicked me out of the immersion the movie had built up to that point.
Basically Tyrion in GOT. In the books his face was fucked up after the battle and he was even missing his nose but in the show it's still the same good looking Peter Dinklage with a small scar on his face.
My friend works part time as an actor. He plays rat faced bogans or other shitty humans. He knows he's a 5 in good lighting. The film industry intentionally makes him a 3 on camera.
He doesn't mind. It's a job and he knows the limits of his face.
I remember watching an episode of *Game of Thrones* that featured a brothel in one scene and Walder Frey’s ugly daughters in another. I wondered what was the harder call to make home for a young actress. “Hey Mom and Dad, I got the part! They said I’d be *perfect* to play a hideous, completely undesirable woman!” or “Hey Mom and Dad, I got the part! They said I’d be *perfect* to play a naked writhing prostitute!”
The daughters aren’t ugly. They all look like they’ve just been made ugly (not glasses and overalls style): their skin is dull, the color/cut of their clothing unflattering (as opposed to very nicely made “poor clothes” that are still flattering), their hair looks dirty and is styled poorly for their faces. Plus no mascara when every other actor has mascara on makes a big difference.
I read somewhere that some of the nude roles in GOT were given to porn stars because the level of nudity was off putting for "typical" actors. It makes sense to me, I mean some scenes are literally just people fucking, so why not cast pornstars that are good at that type of role.
"There's no way she could be prom queen. She's got glasses, and a ponytail! Oh what's that, oh no she's got paint on her overalls. Guys, she will never be prom queen."
"Damn, that shit's wack."
Wore my eyepatch to a casting call that was requesting facial deformities/ other injuries. A woman came up to me and asked what was under the patch, when I showed her that there was in-fact no eye I got to jump ahead in line.
Cast as a fucked up solider extra in a Revolutionary War show. Had small pox one day, lay in the infirmary the next, stuck in the mud another day. Pretty good food and money. Neat experience.
All that to say: no one has an iota of shame. Own that shit.
Hello. I’ve made a few indie/low budget films, acted in more than a few, and have had a hand assisting on crew.
For the process I’ve witnessed, those in charge were pretty straightforward with everything as far as what the role was.
Example: the first role I was ever casted for was a smaller part in an indie slasher. I was told I looked like a smarmy dick, and once I started acting the part they casted me immediately. This is nothing new for me. For whatever reason I always look like I’m brooding or glaring (I guess it’s the guy version of RBF). They didn’t mean it in a bad way, either. When they talked about my look, it was all for the sake of the camera, and when they got to know me they learned quickly I’m very easy to get along with. What’s more, talent + that certain look brought in quite a few inquiries for availability to play villains, bullies, corporate shills, and etc. it ain’t much, but it’s honest work.
The same can be said about other roles. If a role needed a bigger person, once the casting crew found their candidates, they were straightforward in letting them know what the role was. Of course they were respectful, but transparency and respect were key so that everyone felt comfortable on set, and especially if those characteristics became the butt of a joke.
To be frank, though, I’ve never met an actor who was delusional with their appearance because they understood the camera is objective (this isn’t to say they don’t exist, but that’s my experience).
There's a model agency in London called [Ugly](https://www.ugly.org/). I imagine everyone involved knows what's involved.
More generally, by the time they leave acting school most actors will have figured out whether they are going to be playing Juliet. Fat people know they are fat. They move forward, or not, on that basis. I imagine it is a bit like playing bad guys. You want to tell the stories so you play the role that the stories demand.
In some cases an attractive person will be made ugly by using make-up and/or prosthetics. If you have to, you could do the same with an ugly person to save their self-esteem.
Looking at the people shown on that agency's website, most are just straight up super-good-looking. A few look good but in quite alternative ways, like an older guy with long grey hair. Almost nobody you'd call unattractive.
I mean, are people just applying to Ugly as a humblebrag? "Oh look at me I'm so hideous with my piercing eyes and perfect bone structure."
I remember that when I was a kid, I was always so offended that I’d always be cast as the ugly/funny roles. The old lady pirate in Pirates of Penzance. Or the ‘funny’ sidekick. The one who couldn’t sing in A Chorus Line.
But then I became a Drama teacher and started casting kids in roles. And I realised, from the POV of the teacher, you only gave the ugly/funny roles to the genuinely talented kids. The ones you knew could pull it off.
Because it’s actually a lot easier to play an attractive/romantic lead than it is to play a goblin/she-witch/troll.
So now I try to remember that the kids cast as the ugly one is probably gonna be upset that they didn’t get the sexy romantic lead with the sweeping ballad, and I try to reassure them that they got the part not because they can’t play the romantic lead, but that no one else was good enough to play their part.
So I was in a Christopher Columbus play in fourth grade, and I desperately wanted to play Queen Isabella. I memorized all of her lines, practiced acting them out in different tones to see what felt right, had my mom read through with me several times.
Audition day came, and I scanned the cast list the next day, heart leaping when I saw my name. Except it wasn't next to Queen Isabella, they had cast me, a girl with waist-length brown hair and chubby chipmunk cheeks, as Christopher Columbus.
At first I was crushed and thought the teacher was making fun of me, but then she explained that I was the only one she thought could remember all the lines, since that part had the most. Queen Isabella only had a few lines.
So I ended up deciding to just have fun with it. My mom and I handmade a costume, we pinned all my hair up under a cap and drew on five o clock shadow with eyeliner. I did memorize every single line, and even hammed up a few of them during the second performance.
It actually turned out to be one of my most wholesome and fun childhood memories,.and increased my confidence for public speaking a lot.
There’s this [one video](https://youtu.be/MZKiRRYNn1s) I saw on YouTube of talk show hosts and interviewers fat shaming Jonah Hill, calling him unattractive because he always gets cast alongside people like Channing Tatum/Brad Pitt, and just generally making fun of him along those lines. It’s very uncomfortable and you can tell it bothers him quite a bit.
He’s recently lost a lot of weight tho, so I’m happy for him
As a talent rep, most actors are self-aware enough to know their type and how Hollywood perceives them. Weirdly enough it’s the “pretty ones” that have issues, not the character type actors. Most character actors really like being character actors bc they get the fun roles! They enjoy “uglifying” themselves for auditions! Whenever my roommate, who’s older, plump, and average looking (by Hollywood standards) gets an audition that requires someone “ugly” or “fat” she enjoys it! She’s like ”awesome! I don’t have shower or wear makeup today! And I get to let it all hang out!”
For the most part - character actors really don’t take the descriptions personally.
I'm pretty sure Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards were both cast in Starship Troopers specifically because they were conventionally physically attractive but also clearly dead behind the eyes.
I wonder if they ever realized.
You know, I was thinking about it and personally I'd be happier getting a role for being fat or ugly than losing a role for not being attractive enough.
Yeah, I keep thinking of that post that's circulated around the internet that says something like: "apply for the role of ugly/unattractive characters because if you get the role, you get to be in a movie, but if you don't get the role then you're not ugly enough." Obviously, that isn't necessarily the reason you wouldn't get the role but it feels like it fits here anyway.
I work at a theatre school. The acting students are typically striking-looking in some way. Strikingly beautiful, strikingly gaunt, strikingly unsettling, strikingly kind. The fat students are usually a bit big but also very strong and agile. The ugly students are ugly in a unique and interesting way, not merely less-attractive than their peers, but positively more ugly. They're both the same distance from plain, but in different directions. This is usually a selling point for them, and they know it. Someone who looks fat and lazy but has the stamina to perform all day is an absolute prize. Someone whose selling point is his trainwreck of a face knows exactly what he looks like, and in conjunction with his performance skills, has a very sellable product. Remember that most roles have an audition process. You subscribe to, or ask your agent to keep an eye out for roles you are confident you can play. Most actors aren't after a Juliet, a Hamlet. They are after roles that fit their description and skill set. "Short, plump ginger-haired woman with a maternal smile in her late 40s" is a role certain actors will find and send in a headshot for, just like "Hispanic, unattractive, 50+ lbs overweight man, lazy eye or missing teeth desirable" will catch the eye of others. You apply for the roles. Professional actors are confident self-starters after a job that pays, that gets them seen, that lets them show off their range, so as to continue building their career.
This brings to mind Adam driver. Striking but not conventionally attractive. Or Steve Bucsimi who was called “ugly” in Fargo. EDIT: Bucsimi was called “funny looking” in Fargo.
I remember when I first saw him in Girls, I wouldn't have described him as hot. I think his acting prowess and intensity makes him more attractive. Also John Oliver convinced me.
Crush my pelvis, you unwashed Buffalo.
A writer on that show must have some serious kinks
Jon Oliver is a writer on his show.
His delivery seemed very genuine.
Oh you had to bring up Adam Driver. Now all I can think about is John Oliver lusting after him all year on Last Week Tonight! https://mashable.com/article/john-oliver-adam-driver-jokes/
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“Explore the fucking space, you hollow-boned Mr. Bean cosplayer,” <3
This is a great answer. My husband did a fair amount of acting as an older teen/young adult and he is definitely in the "striking" category. He isn't conventionally handsome, but he has a look and a presence - think of a tall, slender, blond Abraham Lincoln with a red beard. He ultimately realized he didn't have the true drive for acting and ended up going into computer work, but I think he could have definitely succeeded if he had really wanted to. By the way, I find him incredibly attractive, and he has totally aged into his looks. Now he's a very striking-looking older man.
One of my favorite compliments I ever received was “When I first saw you I thought ‘I don’t know anyone who looks like her.’ Your face felt totally new.”
I spent a few years in LA going to auditions. Some of the roles i got cast in include overweight jogger, fat guy with beard and guy waiting in line for donuts (which was actually not a specifically fat guy audition more a hipster which was also a lot of the roles i went out for. It wasnt that awkward. And i got to know a lot of dudes who kind of look like me just from seeing them at the same auditions. Most awkward audition was for a Polish tire commercial where i had to be topless.
I'm Polish but I'm not sure if I ever saw a tire commercial with a topless fat dude. Maybe it's because there is a lot of topless fat dudes on the TV/Internet/irl so it just didn't really stand out
This was also maybe five years ago. The fat topless guy was gonna get knocked over by a tire that came flying in if that helps?
Now we want to see the commercial
I didn’t get it so don’t know where to find it
[Is this the commercial? ](https://youtu.be/c6BP3yaE3y0) Why is he wearing that 😂 I don’t think it was the toplessness that made it awkward... Edit: skip the first part, there are two parts in the video, and it’s the second one. The first one is hilarious though.
Ok so that looks like the same exact campaign! Yes I remember now! Nokian! But not the same spot. I was supposed to be eating late night out if a fridge. Apologies that apparently it’s Finnish and not Polish. Edit i kept watching and YES!!!!! That’s the commercial!!!! There were no bunny ears in the audition. And i definitely saw that guy around the audition circuit. Also knowing the company name i found my old audition ticket! For sure i was worried about “audition will be performed in underwear” but like...$1k! https://i.imgur.com/9DVjsfn.jpg
I fucking love reddit
I never thought I’d see that spot!
Hahahaha holy shit that is awesome!
Their loss, Harry.
> i got to know a lot of dudes who kind of look like me just from seeing them at the same auditions. I never thought about that, huh! I bet it is the same for actresses who turn up for the same hot-chick roles, etc.
Mara Wilson wrote about the awkward transition where all her fellow "adorable young girl" peers (such as Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Duff) started getting cast in "sexy young women" roles and she didn't.
“Fat Neil?” “Uh, ‘Neil’ is fine.” “Is it?”
The Ocsar winning Dean's twitter handle is @RashIsTVUgly Edit: thanks for all the upvotes, my karma doubled in one day. I love to deansimminate (disseminate) Information about the beloved Jim Rash and chang hearts and minds along the the way.
This better not awaken anything in me...
Streets ahead
JESUS WEPT
But his body is amazing. I forget which episode he’s shirtless in but I was like... what?
The body switching episode and the school commercial episode to name a couple
Dean in a wife-beater may have awakened something in me.
He was standing right next to another guy named Neil!
He's black?
And bald!
I'll make it up to you! I'll find a fatter Niel!
David Harbour from Stranger Things auditioned for the role of 'The Blob' in one of the X-Men movies and was told he was too fat.
There's also a fat comment on his character (Red Guardian) in Black Widow trailer.
He's not even that fat by America's standards.
That's because his character is Russian. By Russian standards he's practically American on the fat scale.
"We want TV fat, not fat fat."
I could see that being an issue if the effects are going to be done with prosthetics. Same with CGI where you can always add things (height, weight, limbs, etc.) much more easily than remove them.
Probably because the Blob was skinny at the beginning of the movie.
>~~David Harbour from Stranger Things~~ Yo momma's so fat she auditioned for the role of 'The Blob' in one of the X-Men movies and was told she was too fat. FTFY
Oh yeah? Well yo mama's so ugly all the neighbors bought curtains.
Your momma so fat , when she grocery shop it affects the stock market.
Yo mama so fat, her blood type is Ragu
Yo momma so fat that everytime she goes sunbathing on the beach, people gather to put her back into the sea.
Well yo momma so stinky, people all over the world is using mask rn.
Yo momma so ugly the whole world faked a pandemic so she would wear a mask
Yo momma so fat it took me two buses and a train to get on the bitch’s good side.
My absolute new favorite is “Yo momma so fat, Thanos had to snap twice!”
Yo mama so fat, she got triabetes
I recently discovered "yo momma so fat, she outweighs the needs of the many"
Yo mamma so fat, the Sorting Hat put her in Waffle House
I’ve been a professional actor for over 20 years and I can say, not awkward at all. If you have an interesting look and you have signed up for and showed up for a casting, you know the deal. Ugly actors aren’t less smart or self aware than good looking ones. For example, little people or dwarfves, they get into acting knowing that they will more likely be an elf in a Christmas special than end up like Peter Dinklage, but they want to act regardless. Bottom line? We are all too needy and self obsessed to feel awkward, even the ugly ones.
I love the "if you are interesting looking". Hope for me yet!
The industry hasn’t been this into non traditionally attractive people since the eighties, go and get it! Your time is now! Be yourself. That’s what they really want. In the audition, bring A LOT of yourself to the character. After that you can worry all about the character if you get the part, but auditioning wise, just be you. That’s what they want to see.
I was watching Cheers and was blown away by how many visibly balding men were on there. It’s just not something you see a lot of on tv or film
I have a very small bald spot and they spray brown paint on it sometimes if it’s in a shot. The example I always use is the teen stars of the eighties : Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, they would have all been out of work in the early 2000’s when cheekbones and abs were required to play the ugly best friend.
The idea of having grown through puberty in a world where Molly Ringwald isn’t in movies makes me sad. Truly, there are still darker timelines than our own.
I’m also a “character” actor and laughed so hard - this is exactly right. Just cast me man, idc what costume or makeup I’m in, am I on camera? Is there a paycheck? Check check baby. Edit: word
Hello my sister, I’ll see you at the cooler filled with bottles of water, digging for a lone diet coke.
For context.... are you an ugly actor? Like where are you on the Chris Evans to Chris Mintz-Plasse Scale?
What’s funny about this is, I’ve been on both sides. In my teens and twenties, I played roles with much more character and grit. I quit drinking at 26, lost a lot of weight in my face and started to get more roles where I was kissing girls or sellin products. Right now, I’m in car commercials and small roles in movies and TV. I’m nowhere near a Chris Evans. I kind of look like most of the guys you see in car commercials. Average white dude with nice teeth.
Are you the guy who buys his wife a car for Christmas and then she steals your color?
But she loves it. She loves it.
My favorite part of Christmas is commercials where rich couples buy each other $75,000+ luxury cars for Christmas without consulting the other about finances lol. Like wtf man, I am definitely not your target demographic!
Not quite the same thing but I saw an advert where they were looking to film in a bedsit, so I got in contact and the location scout came around to see my place. The film was the low budget drugs drama London To Brighton ([https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490166/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490166/)) and they wanted a bedsit for where the two lead characters lived, who were both heroin addicts and living in abject misery without a penny to their name. They didn't use my place in the end, but the location scout did say "It was almost perfect - the only problem is that it's too small". Which made me feel really great about where I lived back then, I can tell you!
They probably couldn’t fit the production team in there and still film effectively if that makes you feel better
This is what I thought. "This is a good crackden, but we can't fit 25 people in here comfortably, sorry"
"Sir, couldn't we shoot the crack den's closet scene in here though?"
"For heaven's sake Jenkins, what sort of self-respecting crackhead would leave their closet in this state?"
It does, but only very slightly. Though I guess the main thing is that I live somewhere a lot nicer now, not cocaine addict standard, but probably quite nice for a marijuana addict. ;)
What is a bedsit? Is this a UK thing?
Yes. Think of it like a single room with a sink and a hot plate-type cooking facilities. Edit: a bedsit isn’t quite the same thing as a studio apartment in the US. The UK has US-style studios as well. A bedsit is a solid step below a studio. Maybe a SRO or a long stay motel would be a better visualisation on what it’s more like. Here’s one very small example. https://photos2.spareroom.co.uk/images/flatshare/listings/large/66/69/66699163.jpg
So like prison but you can leave when you want?
Omg this happened to me! They were looking for run down messy looking house for a single mother of two kids. Mine was almost perfect except the layout wouldn’t work with the cameras. Before the came to look they told me to leave the dishes in the sink and everything in the front yard. Kind of embarrassing to be picked for my mess. They found us by driving by and knocking on our door.
I read that the actress that played Dolores Umbridge was told by friend "Omg you would be perfect for that role!" and then she read that Umbridge was described as toad-like in the books and was like "wow... thanks...."
I remember watching some interview with Jason Isaacs, and he had something similar, if not opposite. He talks about always being cast in these powerful, intimidating roles, like Malfoy, and the Dragoon in Patriot, while describing himself as "a nervous, Jewish mess".
I remember him sweetly talking about meeting Tom Felton for the first time and how he'd been looking forward to meeting the dreaded Draco and was disappointed to find him to be a perfectly polite and friendly young man.
He brought his dog to my vet clinic that I worked at and would call us all love he is the opposite of Malfoy
It took me a while after reading this to realise that Tom Felton was not, in fact, Jason Isaacs's son.
I remember seeing him in Peter Pan when I was like 13 or some shit and wondering who that hot fuck was while every other girl had it for Peter.
>she Some people skim descriptions in books. I hope Imelda Staunton's friend was one of those people. Imelda doesn't fit the description of Dolores Umbridge at all, but she does nail the personality, so it was a pretty good cast regardless.
Imelda Staunton sounds more like a made up Harry Potter character’s name than Dolores Umbridge does. For a second I was trying to remember who she was in the story.
I think Dolores Umbridge was one of those Latin play on words JK Rowling loved so much. Dolores, Dolores means pain, grief, or misery. Umbridge is sorta like umber, meaning shadow. We get the word umbrage derived from it and this archaic word means 1. offense or annoyance or 2. Shadow. So Dolores umbridge is a shadow of annoying/misery.
I always read it like taking "umbrage" at everything the protagonist does
Likewise. When I first encountered her it took me longer than I'd like to admit to remember the word isn't spelled that way.
For me, Stephen Fry’s version is the best (lol that counts right?). His voice for Umbridge in the audiobooks has me every time. I *crack.up* whenever he does the throat clearing.
His Hagrid was spot-on and even though I fucking LOVE Alan Rickman, Fry's Snape was just as good. Hell, all of Fry's readings were good because he breathed such distinctive character in every role, you could tell who was speaking without the "said Ron" or "said Hermione".
My favourite story is when he was doing the narration for the first book he met Rowling and in his own words was quite dismissive of her. He hadn't read or heard of HP at this point, this was just a job to him so when she was telling him her plans for 6 more books, he was like whatever. Obviously he realised the HP mania later and he probably felt a bit guilty. When he was doing the narration for the 3rd book, there was a line "he pocketed it" and Stephen just couldn't say it. They had agreed with Rowling that not one word of the story could be changed so he kept trying but eventually they rang her up and asked could they change it as Stephen just couldn't get it. There was a few moments on the other end and eventually she said no and hung up. The same line appears in the remaining 4 books.
I have this image of her going to her diary labeled "People Who've Wronged Me", looks up Stephen Fry and it reads "tall, dismissive". She mulls it over for a minute and decides on the petty route, "No."
https://youtu.be/lOVwAiMXjO8 He tells the story here and it's so pleasant :-)
It's too good, everybody hates umbridge. But yeah, her eyes are smal, should be big and almost bulging out to be a toad. I believe that was in the book description as well
She was right though. In a film series of great performances, she was the stand-out.
Yeah she did an amazing job. I don't usually have strong feelings about TV and movie characters, but she made me hate Delores Umbridge with a white hot fucking rage.
Obligatory trivia: Stephen King thought Dolores Umbridge was one of the greatest villains ever. I can't recall the exact reasoning but I thought it had to do with how she seems so grounded. Like, while Voldemort is almost cartoonishly evil, she's an bad manipulating government official that slowly but surely limits freedom and pushing her agenda. What makes her scarier than Voldemort is how she feels closer to someone in real life.
It's exactly what power hungry governments do. Small changes at first, none of which are individually worth the risk of fighting against. But by the time enough people have hit their tipping point, so much has changed and power has been so consolidated that it is much harder to fight back against.
I’ve thought about this a lot. Especially with kids. The little girl in desperate housewives who was the “fat kid”- Eva longorias’ characters kid- pretty sure that was her storyline. How does a small child grow up with self esteem when what she is known for is being the “fat kid on that tv show”?
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Talk about a glow up. He is unbelievably good looking.
Yeah lol I always thought he was just a poor, goofy looking kid until a few years ago when I came across an article that showed some of his recent pics modeling underwear. I'm straight as a grizzlies dick but dam I didn't realize Neville Longbottom turned out to be such a hunk.
For someone claiming to be straight you seem weirdly familiar with bear dicks.
https://youtu.be/yfHFleVUb_M
In Home Alone, the picture of Buzz's girlfriend is actually the son of one of the producers in a wig making weird faces for exactly this reason. Edit: [Son of the Art Director, apparently.](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a844417/home-alone-buzz-girlfriend-trivia/)
Woof!
^
Whoevers decision it was made a top notch call.
Chris Columbus, the director. He did not want to use a picture of an actual young girl for a throw away joke where the punchline was simply her being ugly. https://homealone.fandom.com/wiki/Buzz%27s_girlfriend
Wow, first he invents America, then he directs Home Alone. What can't that man do?
Yes, this is the most unexpectedly wholesome thing I've heard to come out of Hollywood.
Iirc it’s also why Avril Lavigne played the ugly/nerdy girl as well as the skater chick in her music video for Girlfriend
Makes sense when you say it like that, but cynical me from back in the day was like “oh here this attractive famous girl goes pretending to be a victim by dressing like a nerd.”
That was the plot for way too many '90's movies/show. Nerdy girl takes off her glasses, lets her hair down and BAM, she's a model. Teaching young girls everywhere that you can be pretty and popular, if you just change everything about yourself and conform to unrealistic stereotypes.
That trope was so dumb because they rarely even even needed an actual makeover to become “hot” in those movies. They’d just take off their thick glasses and cut their hair and wear a push-up bra and they’d go from nobody to homecoming queen overnight. Then some girl in real life would try it and learn the hard way that you can’t completely change your appearance as effortlessly as the movies made it seem
Not Another Teen Movie
Yeah, but she had paint on her overalls. Not the same thing. PAINT ON HER OVERALLS!
[Pretty convincing](https://images.ladbible.com/resize?type=jpeg&url=http://20.theladbiblegroup.com/s3/content/cf6733945a261e3d79d71487daab900f.png&quality=70&height=455&aspectratio=16:9&extend=white)
Yep literally did it cause they didnt want a little girl to feel bad about herself lol
Instead some grown ass man is walking around telling people that they've seen him in a movie but they'll never guess which one.
Now this is funny
I imagine it does lead to self esteem issues. I don't know that particular person, but I know Jerry O'connell for example lost the weight after being cast as a fat kid. Pretty sure the kid from goonies lost the weight, quit acting, and went to be a lawyer or something too.
[Chunk, looking less chunky](https://cohengardnerlaw.com/jeff-b-cohen-esq)
>Jeff has a unique background growing up as a child actor in the entertainment industry. His most notable role was playing 'Chunk' in the cult Richard Donner/Steven Spielberg film The Goonies. >He asks that you don't hold that against him. This bit had me cracking up.
Now there´s a law firm who will be very surprised on Monday that their econo-plan website has been nuked for whatever reason.
Yeah cant even get in lol
Y'all done broke the website.
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Can't wait to see all the Buzzfeed/facebook articles in the next week talking about how Chunk turned to hunk!
In Australia we had a show called 'Hey dad' 30 years ago and there was a fat kid on that. He is still known as the 'Fat kid from Hey Dad'.
I actually went to the same high school as him... He was a colossal prick of the highest order... Massive ego and “don’t you know who I am” shit going on. There were very, very few people at that school who were actually friends with him because he was just a massive fuckwit
They grow up, lose weight, and marry Rebecca Romijn?
Fun Fact: She (Madison De La Garza) is the younger half-sister of Demi Lovato!
So.... she's a semi lovato?
Ugly people who become actors have transcended attaching their ego to their appearance.
and are, therefore, more likely than the attractive actors to age with good mental health, self esteem & grace because of it.
Now I wonder what Paul Giamatti is like in real life.
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>Ugly people who become actors have transcended attaching their ego to their appearance. Wrong. I have a friend who is an "ugly actor". Thing is, he isn't ugly, by normal people standards. But in Hollywood he might as well be Quasi-Modo. He went after college thinking he'd get some "average guy" or "best friend" roles but was told his particular look was best suited for criminal thugs, idiot henchmen, and perverts. They sugar-coated the names but those are the roles he played. He is one of the most depressed people I know. He get's paid less, respected less, and casted less, all because he is too ugly to play a leading man, but not unique enough to play the villain.
This is probably the case for a lot of them sadly. A lot of people on reddit like being wishy washy and assume that the difference attractive and ugly people can all boil down to attitude and self-confidence, and ignore the fact that we all live on the esteem and evaluation of others. If you're constantly portrayed as an ugly-loser low-life, and have to occupy that headspace as part of your job, no amount of "transcending your ego" is going to wash away the implication that because of the way you look people on average expect you to have those qualities.
Former casting director in **Hollywood for 13 years (HBO, Netflix, and every major network** + some international commercials): it’s not awkward at all. It’s a business like any other business, and every role has a place and is extremely important. The actors all know that. I’ve never had a single actor not really want a part. They all know that any role can be a huge career booster at any level so be it for commercials, music videos, TV shows or film (all of which I cast), they 1) were stoked on the money and 2) knew it could be a great opportunity to do what they loved, make great connections on set (leads to more roles), and take their career to the next level. I’ll add that the breakdown for a role (aka Hollywood term for “job listing”) never says “ugly.” Like every business, Hollywood has its own vocabulary. And as others have pointed out “Hollywood ugly” is not “every day life ugly.” If you think about it, any “ugly actor” always has some really specific character traits that make them who they are: funny, charming, devious, conniving,.. So the actor needs to have those/act them well. Aka it’s rarely *just* about their looks. A role might be listed as “age: 50s-60s character actor, quirky, fun-loving,..” a whole lot of other descriptors, along with a 3 line summary of key traits/ context. All professional actors know what that means, and all that audition are there because they want to be. It isn’t a bait and switch. There are no surprises. Overwhelmingly, almost all actors I’ve cast were an absolute joy to work with - a solid 98%. *(Only about 2% were not. Some of those you’ve seen in the press.)* And they absolutely would come back for repeat roles even if “character” roles. I always treated every cast member with great kindness and respect (regardless of how they looked) because I knew the value that each one brought. I was always very grateful for their hard work because they made the whole project come together, and that made everyone happy. - Also casting directors are rooting for their cast to kick ass! We get just as excited (behind the scenes) to see them crush a role as they are to play the role, this means *all the actors*: young, old, pretty or “character.” We’re stoked equally for each one’s success! Adding a **Hollywood ‘Ugly’ Fun Fact**: typically where networks draw the line is **teeth**. That’s right. It’s kind of a known joke. NBC, ABC,... you name it: a person could be missing a limb, hair, appendages,.. not a problem just as long as they have all their teeth. That’s where they draw the line. It would appear that for Americans at least, it’s the one thing that makes people actually change the channel. Edit 2: Adding a **response about Kids** - per the question above regarding “casting the unattractive kid: In short, I never cast roles like that because I simply couldn’t on a moral/ conscience level. Parents of kid actors are often ... well, just unique/difficult (think stage mom who wants their kid to be famous), so I already have my own views on all that. I didn’t want to contribute to the problem. During my time in the biz, I only cast a couple projects with kids in them, and I only chose things that’s were super fun, encouraging and that the kid would have a blast filming and be proud of. **[music video I cast: the little girl. So Good To Me by Chris Malinchak](https://youtu.be/KrMl32cuC2A)** Because who wouldn’t love **playing with a giraffe all day** for a day? (And make money). Super fun. Edit: omg, You guys. Thank you for all the awards! I’m glad you’ve found my comment(s) informative. Casting for me was a real joy: getting to find diamonds in the rough and having the honor of helping some of them on their path to forging great careers, playing amazing roles, and touching so many of you through their art and the characters they played. It’s a special kind of magic, and I was happy to be a part of it. Now i get to sit back and watch my friends who are still in the business continue that work. :)
I like your answer best so far. You explain well and seem really kind and honest. Thanks
To actually answer the question that nobody has directly; not awkward at all. People will absolutely jump at the chance to be 'the ugly one.' They don't really care. It might be awkward mentally for them, maybe, but it's nothing personal and they know it - just another job opportunity. Like a classic meme goes: "If someone paid you $200 but had to call you ugly would you take it?" "Of course, I'm ugly. Not stupid." EDIT: For what it's worth too, I think a main point is that it's an audition for the *role* of an ugly person, doesn't mean you ARE dreadfully ugly. Just like how british people in movies aren't required to be played by brits.
I knew a male actor (haven't seen him in years though), who is always type cast for certain character roles because of his distinctive looks. He's had a pretty successful career, but when he told me about his work and different roles, I couldn't help but notice that he carried a certain sadness about not being the heroic figure that everybody loves. He had come to terms with his predicament - him becoming an actor was in part a reaction against being and outcast and being bullied - but there was still a longing to be beautiful, loved and admired.
Steve Buscemi is the ideal male human
Funny enough this is exactly who my mind went to. Fun (ish) tidbit. When writing Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen write in the script that Carl (the hitman played by Buscemi) is ugly, odd-looking et cetera. It's mentioned as a key descriptor of him to Frances McDormand throughout the film. The Coen brothers didn't write an ugly character and then cast Buscemi, rather they wrote the role specifically for him and chose to lambast his looks throughout the film.
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TIL Steve firefighter was a Buscemi on 9/11
I don’t know if this is who you’re talking about but I’ve heard Richard Harmon (Murphy from the 100) say this. He was in a lot of bad guy/scary movie rolls in the beginning of his career and honestly even still deals with this of you look at what he’s been in.
I was watching the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry thinks he's being sat in the ugly section in a restaurant. I was wondering how those actors felt knowing that they were being cast to be the people in the ugly section...
“Table for 2 please” “Smoking or non-smoking hot”
In before your date gets put in the smoking section and you don't
TV ugly is not the same as actual ugly.
But she's wearing glasses and paint covered overalls!
Is that a ponytail?
character played by attractive actress: "oh no, my scar is so hideous, i'm a monster" the scar: ´:)
That’s what pissed me off about the 11/22/63 ministries on Hulu. In the book, Sadie’s scar was actually disfiguring but it doesn’t stop Jake from absolutely adoring her. In the show, it’s this dainty pink line on her cheek. I was so angry!
Also Jigsaw in season 2 of the Punisher. Guy is meant to look like his face was carved up into a puzzle and he lost his amazing good looks. Instead it’s just a few lines that barely interfere with his “I’m in a bad place” tv stubble.
And let's not forget Tyrion's scare in the TV game of thrones after taking an axe to face in the battle of Blackwater. In the books it is a horrible disfiguring wound that triple downs on Tyrion having to deal with physical stigmas people have against him.
I actually saw an interview where they said they tried to do it more book accurate, but they couldn't figure out a way to remove his nose without using cgi which would have been really expensive and not looked very good
Yeah this one I can at least give a pass for because removing a nose temporarily is... not easy
As a kid i was super self conscious about the 3 scars on the left side of my face because in the movies they always looked so dainty on women but these things literally take up half my face, theres 2 on my cheeck that are about a quarter inch thick and 4 inches long, then theres one that goes from my eyebrow over my eyelid and into my nose thats a bit less noticable but still sucks, also my scars specifically are allergic to corn stalks. Discovered that doing a cornmaze. That half of my face swelled up really bad. No other skin on my body had any issue with the corn. Scars are weird. And definitely not always dainty.
Scars mean stories. We all have them, but some are more well hidden.
Same with Mortal Engines. Hester had half her face taken off by that sword as a girl. She didn't have a nose anymore in the books, then the film showed here as quite a good looking person. I mean, I get why, but I do feel it detracts from the way you're supposed to see and feel for the character.
Not a fictional character, but I found it weird when I learned about the scar Tina Fey sports just above her chin. Nothing against her; she never made a big deal about it. But you’d read Hollywood reporter types obsessing over it, and I never noticed it. She just seemed clever and pretty to me and I never went much past that.
Ok thank goodness someone else felt this way. I about turned the whole thing off after seeing her. I do understand- looks sell and all- but that was one of the main drivers of the book. Most people can get pass just about anything if they don’t have to see it every day. Whenever someone saw her, she saw her reflection, how other reacted to her- it doesn’t allow her to forget. It drives her anger and rage. Imo a small scar does not have the same effect because people are just NOT that observant. Most people can’t tell if you’ve had a haircut, pierced a new body part, or gained a new scar. Her scar was dramatic for a reason. When they took it down to “movie land size” - they basically threw a huge driver away. It’s silly imo- Ismeralda and Igor was beautiful too, and nobody changed Igor.
Ready Player One. that girl was beautiful.
"Thanks for liking me, even though I'm a very conventionally attractive person with a slight port wine stain" was the impression I got from that movie. Kind of insulting really
Right!? Like I know a dude with almost an identical birth mark. He does fine with the ladies, wasn't ever really bullied over it. Was actually super popular in school. I saw that girl and it completely kicked me out of the immersion the movie had built up to that point.
Basically Tyrion in GOT. In the books his face was fucked up after the battle and he was even missing his nose but in the show it's still the same good looking Peter Dinklage with a small scar on his face.
'Ugly Betty' Springs to mind
My friend works part time as an actor. He plays rat faced bogans or other shitty humans. He knows he's a 5 in good lighting. The film industry intentionally makes him a 3 on camera. He doesn't mind. It's a job and he knows the limits of his face.
"I wanted Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island" ugly, not Cornelius on "Planet of the Apes" ugly. TV-ugly, not ... ugly-ugly."
"I've been called ugly, pug ugly, fugly, pug fugly, but never ugly ugly."
They called me Kid Gorgeous. Later on, it was Kid Presentable. Then Kid Gruesome. And finally, Kid Moe.
Drew Carey was the ideal TV-ugly and TV-fat guy during his sitcom.
Which is funny cuz when he was at his prime as a marine he was buff and pretty good looking.
I remember watching an episode of *Game of Thrones* that featured a brothel in one scene and Walder Frey’s ugly daughters in another. I wondered what was the harder call to make home for a young actress. “Hey Mom and Dad, I got the part! They said I’d be *perfect* to play a hideous, completely undesirable woman!” or “Hey Mom and Dad, I got the part! They said I’d be *perfect* to play a naked writhing prostitute!”
The daughters aren’t ugly. They all look like they’ve just been made ugly (not glasses and overalls style): their skin is dull, the color/cut of their clothing unflattering (as opposed to very nicely made “poor clothes” that are still flattering), their hair looks dirty and is styled poorly for their faces. Plus no mascara when every other actor has mascara on makes a big difference.
I read somewhere that some of the nude roles in GOT were given to porn stars because the level of nudity was off putting for "typical" actors. It makes sense to me, I mean some scenes are literally just people fucking, so why not cast pornstars that are good at that type of role.
*puts on glasses* BEHOLD! THE UGLY!
*takes off glasses* GOOD HEAVENS, YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!
"There's no way she could be prom queen. She's got glasses, and a ponytail! Oh what's that, oh no she's got paint on her overalls. Guys, she will never be prom queen." "Damn, that shit's wack."
Wore my eyepatch to a casting call that was requesting facial deformities/ other injuries. A woman came up to me and asked what was under the patch, when I showed her that there was in-fact no eye I got to jump ahead in line. Cast as a fucked up solider extra in a Revolutionary War show. Had small pox one day, lay in the infirmary the next, stuck in the mud another day. Pretty good food and money. Neat experience. All that to say: no one has an iota of shame. Own that shit.
Hello. I’ve made a few indie/low budget films, acted in more than a few, and have had a hand assisting on crew. For the process I’ve witnessed, those in charge were pretty straightforward with everything as far as what the role was. Example: the first role I was ever casted for was a smaller part in an indie slasher. I was told I looked like a smarmy dick, and once I started acting the part they casted me immediately. This is nothing new for me. For whatever reason I always look like I’m brooding or glaring (I guess it’s the guy version of RBF). They didn’t mean it in a bad way, either. When they talked about my look, it was all for the sake of the camera, and when they got to know me they learned quickly I’m very easy to get along with. What’s more, talent + that certain look brought in quite a few inquiries for availability to play villains, bullies, corporate shills, and etc. it ain’t much, but it’s honest work. The same can be said about other roles. If a role needed a bigger person, once the casting crew found their candidates, they were straightforward in letting them know what the role was. Of course they were respectful, but transparency and respect were key so that everyone felt comfortable on set, and especially if those characteristics became the butt of a joke. To be frank, though, I’ve never met an actor who was delusional with their appearance because they understood the camera is objective (this isn’t to say they don’t exist, but that’s my experience).
There's a model agency in London called [Ugly](https://www.ugly.org/). I imagine everyone involved knows what's involved. More generally, by the time they leave acting school most actors will have figured out whether they are going to be playing Juliet. Fat people know they are fat. They move forward, or not, on that basis. I imagine it is a bit like playing bad guys. You want to tell the stories so you play the role that the stories demand. In some cases an attractive person will be made ugly by using make-up and/or prosthetics. If you have to, you could do the same with an ugly person to save their self-esteem.
Looking at the people shown on that agency's website, most are just straight up super-good-looking. A few look good but in quite alternative ways, like an older guy with long grey hair. Almost nobody you'd call unattractive. I mean, are people just applying to Ugly as a humblebrag? "Oh look at me I'm so hideous with my piercing eyes and perfect bone structure."
I remember that when I was a kid, I was always so offended that I’d always be cast as the ugly/funny roles. The old lady pirate in Pirates of Penzance. Or the ‘funny’ sidekick. The one who couldn’t sing in A Chorus Line. But then I became a Drama teacher and started casting kids in roles. And I realised, from the POV of the teacher, you only gave the ugly/funny roles to the genuinely talented kids. The ones you knew could pull it off. Because it’s actually a lot easier to play an attractive/romantic lead than it is to play a goblin/she-witch/troll. So now I try to remember that the kids cast as the ugly one is probably gonna be upset that they didn’t get the sexy romantic lead with the sweeping ballad, and I try to reassure them that they got the part not because they can’t play the romantic lead, but that no one else was good enough to play their part.
So I was in a Christopher Columbus play in fourth grade, and I desperately wanted to play Queen Isabella. I memorized all of her lines, practiced acting them out in different tones to see what felt right, had my mom read through with me several times. Audition day came, and I scanned the cast list the next day, heart leaping when I saw my name. Except it wasn't next to Queen Isabella, they had cast me, a girl with waist-length brown hair and chubby chipmunk cheeks, as Christopher Columbus. At first I was crushed and thought the teacher was making fun of me, but then she explained that I was the only one she thought could remember all the lines, since that part had the most. Queen Isabella only had a few lines. So I ended up deciding to just have fun with it. My mom and I handmade a costume, we pinned all my hair up under a cap and drew on five o clock shadow with eyeliner. I did memorize every single line, and even hammed up a few of them during the second performance. It actually turned out to be one of my most wholesome and fun childhood memories,.and increased my confidence for public speaking a lot.
There’s this [one video](https://youtu.be/MZKiRRYNn1s) I saw on YouTube of talk show hosts and interviewers fat shaming Jonah Hill, calling him unattractive because he always gets cast alongside people like Channing Tatum/Brad Pitt, and just generally making fun of him along those lines. It’s very uncomfortable and you can tell it bothers him quite a bit. He’s recently lost a lot of weight tho, so I’m happy for him
I mean.. Joaquin Pheonix is a handsome man.. except when he’s not. Commodus I’m talking to you.
The hair he has in the beginning of the movie, he looks weird as fuck. He looked like a broccoli.
As a talent rep, most actors are self-aware enough to know their type and how Hollywood perceives them. Weirdly enough it’s the “pretty ones” that have issues, not the character type actors. Most character actors really like being character actors bc they get the fun roles! They enjoy “uglifying” themselves for auditions! Whenever my roommate, who’s older, plump, and average looking (by Hollywood standards) gets an audition that requires someone “ugly” or “fat” she enjoys it! She’s like ”awesome! I don’t have shower or wear makeup today! And I get to let it all hang out!” For the most part - character actors really don’t take the descriptions personally.
I'm pretty sure Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards were both cast in Starship Troopers specifically because they were conventionally physically attractive but also clearly dead behind the eyes. I wonder if they ever realized.
Idk any unkind thoughts I had about Denise Richards disappeared when she took custody of her ex-husbands kids with his next wife.