Hi Bonnie,

Great article for age range re: on-camera and stage work.

Voiceover is a different beast, though. I’ve played teens through octogenarians… not to mention some ageless creatures. 😉

And of course gender, race, and anything else is equally fair game.

I guess it’s more of “get away with anything you can believably play.” Know thyself, yes?

Cheers,
Joe J. Thomas

LOVE this, Joe. Thank you. You’re totally right about age range off-camera! But also, for on-camera in “parts.” See, I was a hand model for many years and often would be the “cut away” hands for people 20-40 years older than I am… or even 5-8 years younger! Crazy, right? 🙂

As always, it’s what the market will bear for what you play, and that varies based on the size of your market, the type of work you’re doing, and how you’re perceived on any given day (which could vary buyer to buyer). It’s one of the reasons I suggest a four-year age range with the ability to, “yes, and…” anyone who suggest you could play older or younger by quite a bit. Let it be their idea!

Ours is not to judge how the industry sees us; it’s to walk toward what’s lining up so we can continue to “yes, and…” the experience the buyer is having with us and then start to steer it in a more purposeful way from the inside.

All the way to the bank! 🙂

Rock on, Joe! Thanks for writing in.


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/001989.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.

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