Casting Feature Films

Photo©: Goga Bayat

Should actors' real age be a decisive factor in film casting? 

I was 17 years old when I made my on-camera debut in the box office hit “The Little Bird of Happiness” by Pouran Derakhshandeh (1988) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095822/fullcredits (Parandeye Kuchake Khoshbakhti)  

 A teenager in real life and the mother of a nine year old on-screen, my few scenes were in the form of flashbacks either haunting the little speech-impaired girl reminiscing about her mother’s tragic death, or sweet memories bringing a smile to her face.

My swimming skills along with my young, fearless persona –insisting that I do all of my stunts- made me enjoy the process of jumping from a professional trampoline and dive from a significant altitude into the Olympic swimming pool under which cameras awaited filming the process of my slow drowning, the sequence ending in my body floating on water while rain poured on me (all of this, of course, while I had to keep my eyes wide open!).

Cut.

Fast forward.

Hollywood, California.

We are on set off of Mulholland Hwy in Calabasas (not spelled with a ‘z’ for some reason.)

A couple of decades and displacement experiences have passed and I still find myself being the mother of someone not much younger than myself.

I can't help but wonder: If acting is about showing range, how come some actors find a niche and stay in it? The other question I keep wondering about: Should actors be given a chance to show range before they are pigeon-holed into "types"?

As a character actress, I enjoy the challenges of stepping outside of my comfort zone. As an actress eager to offer range, I look forward to staying within the parameters of what my age can offer.

Rolling. Sound. Camera. Action! It’s like getting on a bike again. It’s fun. It’s professional. It’s all there. It’s heavenly to be like a fish in water again, that rare rush of happiness running through your being because you are engaged in what you love. It’s in moments like these that I find myself thinking “if given the choice, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but right here, right now.” It must be hereditary.

The question remains: Should actors' real age factor into the process of casting roles?