Hi Bonnie.
Wow, what a site! I can’t stop reading all your articles. Bless you (and your crew) for posting them for us newbies!
I’m a “young” 43-year-old woman who has been bitten by the acting bug, but seriously want to know your opinion on older actors and whether a woman should lie about her age to get in to auditions. I’m a youthful 43 years of age, no children, eat well and workout several times a day. I’m not afraid of hard work, but honestly need to know if lying about my age will help me or hurt me. I don’t want to believe that I’m “too late” in becoming an actor. What are your thoughts?
Best regards,
Shannon 🙂
Hi Shannon. Thank you for writing! I’m glad you found Showfax and that you’re enjoying the archived columns here. Yay!
So, I’ve written before about starting “late” and also about folks needing to know your real age in the pursuit of an acting career.
The bottom line is this: It rarely matters how old you actually are. What matters is how old you play. No one should be asking your age anyway. It’s actually against the law for a casting director to ask you how old you are (or what year you graduated from college — a handy workaround to the “how old are you” question) when you’re in an audition. Sure, once you’ve been cast, you’ll need to provide ID which will include your DOB, but then it’s a done deal.
If your agent and manager need to know how old you are, I guess that’s okay, but they should also be on “team you” enough to know that you play younger than your actual age. As I’ve suggested previously, make use of IMDb and talk about how you’re known for playing roles decades below your actual age, if it turns out folks just have to know how old you are.
Would I lie about my age if I were you? Nah. But I’m all about being honest about where I am and what I am. Always have been. Some actors do quite well never letting anyone know how old they are. Maybe that’s the category in which you’ll fall. Just get out there and work, not worrying too much about your age or who knows what that number actually is. If you’re asked, remember that it’s up to you how much you share, most of the time.
Did the right actor ever NOT get cast because it was discovered she was a decade older than originally thought? Doubtful. The right actor somehow always gets the role.
Wanna be sure your tools *and* your mindset are in peak form? Let us get you in gear with some FREE training right now!
Rock ON!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000911.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.