by emily
QUESTION:
I want to become a movie actress but I do not think I am pretty enough. I would like to get leading/starring roles but I am afraid that I will never get them in the future because I am not pretty enough and good-looking. Do I have to be pretty to get lead roles? I do not want to become a character actress. I think it is true that the ones that get leading roles are those who are good looking right? My self confidence is bad because I do not think I am pretty and I do not want to be a character actress. Do not get me wrong, I really want to become an actress. My self confidence is really bad because I am thinking that I am not pretty enough and I do not want to be the “ugly actress”.In every movie I have seen all the girls who plays
the leading part is good looking and pretty.
I hope you can help me or give me some advice. Thanks!
ANSWER:
It sounds like this is not an acting question. Whatever your looks, you need to be confident about who you are and embrace it to succeed in acting. As an actor, you sell a product, except the product is yourself (what you look like, your talent, your training and uniqueness). You have to believe in your product to successfully market it.
Yes, sure, a lot of lead actresses are pretty, but not every woman who gets a lead role is a model type. Also, there are many TV shows that feature less than stunning actresses as their leads, not to mention theater, where looks matter even less. As I mentioned in this post, being a character actor doesn’t mean you’ll never get to play leads.
Acting is a very difficult career to break into. If you limit yourself by not wanting to do certain types of roles, it will be even harder to make it. If you love to act, you’ll find that often, character roles are more interesting and rewarding than other roles.