And You Wonder Why I'm Depressed

This item in yesterday's NY Times (might require free registration to read), goes a long way to explaining why life as actor is so hard.

What it doesn't address is the fact that -- unlike the past -- the entertainment industry is geared toward making movies/plays/TV for a much younger demographic, which leaves us "old" folks with fewer and fewer jobs.

And everyone's got to be beautiful these days. I'm beginning to believe that in a few more years "character actors" will be a thing of the past. They'll just be pretty people uglied up.

Don't believe me? Check out these character description snippets from "the Breakdowns," the daily casting notices sent to agents. This is just a sampling, taken from five random days over the last couple of months, searching for the terms "handsome" or "good looking":

"Male, Caucasian (Walden girls friend / House Crasher) 20's, very good looking. SUPPORTING"

"Handsome, arrogant English professor who is caught with a transvestite prostitute..."

"Indie director, who has that "whole handsome, artsy, ultra-cool Ethan Hawke thing going on..."

"David is a handsome, hardworking, successful Ob/Gyn who shares a practice with his father and brother."

"handsome, very macho, brilliant psychiatrist, good upper crust British accent, capable of both savage murder and drawing room conversation."

"he's a smart, handsome, problem-solver with a razor sharp wit."

"male; Smooth, handsome, and fit..."

"Mid 20's. Italian. Hot. Aggressive. Energetic. Smoker. Jon's former lover."

And yet, we struggle on...