Isabella Rossellini is 62 years old. I point that out upfront because she makes issue of her age in a new interview with The Telegraph. She’s promoting her small role in Enemy. She took this part as a favor for a friend, director Denis Villeneuve. Isabella says she’s not really an actress anymore because Hollywood set her free years ago. One look at her IMDb page reveals that Isabella does a few small jobs per year, mostly one-off tv episodes or foreign films. Likewise, she was the face of Lancome cosmetics for 14 years, and the company ended the relationship when she turned 40. Here’s what Isabella has to say about it all:
On aging in Hollywood: “I really don’t work any more as an actress. I am old, and there are no roles for older people. If a friend calls and asks me to do something, then of course I do it, because I want to be with them, but it’s never a career move.”
Celebrities replaced models: “Now, there is a celebrity fixation. Models are not doing so many of the campaigns — it’s actresses. And if they are in a successful film when they are 38 or 40, they still get the campaigns. But it’s the celebrity that gives them the longevity. Most models start working less at 30, and then by the time they are 35 it’s over completely.”
[From The Telegraph]
These are common issues for actresses and models. The default (and rude) industry response is that modeling and acting capitalize on looks, which fade over time. So one should expect to lose jobs over time, unless you’re Meryl Streep, Kathy Bates, or Helen Mirren. That’s just the way it is, but it isn’t fair. Everyone knows that male actors get a few more decades in the business; and they keep on playing romantic leads as their love interests grow increasingly younger. I know there’s no easy solution to this issue, but I wish audiences demanded better roles for women. After 40, even talented actresses are usually stuck playing a female love interest’s mother, you know?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
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