Getting past the gender barrier in acting
A big obstacle for actresses of a certain age (mine, for example) is too often being relegated to roles as disempowered characters, even though the world reflects a very different reality and the majority of casting agents (and now many directors and producers) are women. You would think that they would make the connection that if a 55-year-old man can play the "powerful person in charge," so can a 55-year-old woman. Not so. If a woman is cast as a district attorney, for example, she'll more often be 27 and chosen for reasons other than her credibility as a D.A. (Which brings to mind Danny DeVito in Norman Jewison's 1991 Other People's Money , opposite Penelope Ann Miller as the D.A. and his love interest. I think Norman Jewison is terrific, as are both actors, but Miller looked like she was 12 at the time and, yes, the pairing was cringe-worthy.) E. Katherine Kerr as Sen. Grace Comisky In acting, what I see being offered to older actresses are roles as little o...