So BBC 2's The Fall is back, and Gillian Anderson is pulling out the acting big guns as the brilliant Detective Gibson all over again. But much like the first season, it's getting some flack for - Gillian aside - being just another show that trotted out a huge number of bit-part actresses who play nothing more than brutally murdered victims.
It's a perfect example of the lack of quality parts for up-and-coming actresses. Research in 2009 from the FIA (Federation of Actors) found that a large percentage of women were leaving the profession before the age of 35 because of the lack of opportunities. With fewer roles written for women, a screen culture based entirely on the way women look, and an industry that finds itself completely disinterested with the female species once she developes crows feet, it's a continuing upward struggle.
In fact in this industry and you want to make it big, you've got to pay your dues in the morgue, with your tits out or any number of things that guys never seem to have to worry about.
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My first audition after graduating from a really well respected drama school was for a film role playing 'Buxom Bohemian' who, in the script was pictured 'seductively eating an apple, fully naked, on a rock'. My second, the role of 'Hitchcock's Blonde', included full nudity and my most recent stated 'actress should be aware that she will be wearing lingerie for the entire second act, so must be body beautiful'. I've just finished my first telly role. After three years in the biz. Hell Yeah! Oh, did I mention, I was a rape victim.
Thank god I took out a Career Loan for Drama School, eh?
For a bit, I assumed I was just having the worst string of luck and had been stereotyped as a naturist. That was until my mates from drama school reeled off some similar anecdotes at our recent reunion. One was horrified when she was asked to hand over her bust, waist and hip measurements before an audition, whilst another was told a day before shooting schedule began that she would be costumed solely in tight lycra as one of the lead's 'fit' girl mates. The male actors from our class found these tales hilarious - they had all had some great roles since leaving and, even the ones who hadn't struck gold had never once been asked to remove their clothing.
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So if any of you ladies were thinking of entering 'the hardest game in the world' (after the Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Slumdog edition) be prepared to deal with some shit.
**You Will Be Objectified. Sorry. **
'Miss L' is the twitter name (@proresting) for an actress who 'anonymously tweets about the ridiculousness of the acting world'. Her tumblr, Casting Call Woe, lists casting breakdowns from real websites such as Casting Call Pro, on which actors pay £130 a year to be notified of both paid and unpaid (majority the latter) acting jobs. A fairly large percentage of her tweets are focussed on casting agents that objectify and stereotype women, but also real cases where questionably legitimate production companies are looking for women for roles which sound borderline illegal. In amongst the last few entries were:
'I wanna use the whole sex sells. But not in a classy way'
'No nudity will be required of the male actor. However the female actor would reveal nudity'
and my personal favourite:
'She doesn't like being objectified. And is very pretty'
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You Will Be Constantly T0rying To Gauge Your Own Level Of Attractiveness
Casting breakdowns usually explicitly tell agents the answer to this one. 'Slim', 'Slender', 'Voluptuous', 'Very attractive', 'Extremely attractive', 'Model looks', 'Quirky but attractive' are all regulars on casting calls. If you enter the game with any false confidence, you won't last for long. You will attend castings where, in the waiting room, everyone will look like you and mostly it will seem that they are all just better versions. Your looks are your business card so you will never stop worrying they aren't good enough.
When you don't get the part for 'Beauty 1' you may spend three weeks self-flagellating at Boot Camp telling yourself 'one more circuit course and one less Ryvita and I'll make it'. Forget talent, it's always physical suitability to the role, which more often than not for women means HOT. Especially with American standards creeping into our world. At least Eastenders is still a safe bet for real looking humans. Sometimes.
You Will Almost Certainly Get Raped
It wasn't just me lucky enough to play a rape victim. Due to the current entertainment fetish, many actresses enjoy the privilege. Louise is 28 and a struggling actress who has played her fair share of victims. Of her last experience she reported: 'When I was lying face down in the mud and leaves with my bum hanging out all I could think was - so much for my dreams of being in the all-female Hamlet.' After I laughed she continued: 'In all seriousness, I've been slogging away to get my foot in the door and there's a possibility this CV credit could get the ball rolling a bit faster. If it wasn't a rape victim, I'd be a nurse, a hooker or 'girl with boobs 2' there's not that many other roles til you've made a name for yourself.'
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People Will Assume You're Cool With Nudity
When I was making my TV debut as a rape victim, the director thought it was cool to casually mention they'd probably 'just do a shot of your bum, too' which had never been mentioned before. I hadn't prepped! I hadn't exfoliated! I said no, and my agent thankfully backed me up. A friend who just got a bit-part in a new sitcom was told on the day before shooting in front of a live audience that they might 'just put her in her underwear' and, after spending hours worrying and stressing, she plucked up the courage to say no but the costume department had already picked out lingerie for her. Another friend was told the day before a shoot that her part now including playing the male lead's 'fit' neighbour and that she'd be bending over in tight lycra while the male actors 'ogled her'. She called me on the phone and cried for about fifteen minutes.
Any Artistic Integrity Will Depart As Quickly As You Can Say 'Here's Literally Any Money, Any Whatsoever...'
Hey, a struggling actress has gotta eat (but only a little if she's expecting to be seen for auditions on the basis of those waist/dress sizes). 'Even though I have a first class degree, I've been living on £14k a year for the last three years, funding unpaid work at fringe theatres with part time jobs so if I do land a television job at they offer me £2,000, I'm not going to turn down the work am I, whatever the role might be. Does that make me sound a liitle bit like a prostitute?' asks another old classmate Kate, 25. Integrity is a difficult thing to keep when money is tight.
So what's the moral of the story? There isn't one, sadly. Apart from hey, the world is shit and as long as we continue to follow the 'sex sells' mantra, women will have to wade through this crap. The important thing to do, though, is to talk about it. And keep talking about it, until more and more women start to write their own scripts, direct their on TV shows, all with this in mind: women can play more interesting parts than sexy or victimised.
The tide is, indeed, slowly turning - what with Jennifer Lawrence rocking it in *The Hunger Games *(and every other film), Tina Fey and Amy Poehler nailing it in comedy, Lena nailing it everywhere, Caitlin Moran's How To Build A Girl being made into a film, and the fact that Cate Blanchett ripped into the industry for viewing female films with women at the centre as 'niche experiences' after bagging the Oscar for Blue Jasmine, we're slowly getting there. It's just taking a bit longer than I'd like...
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Pictures: Eugenia Loli
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.