Comments on: Age Discrimination in Hollywood -or- You Do Not Look 17

By: Karen

Karen — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 07:44:40 +0000

Lol this is TOO funny that I happened to have known Gabrielle Carteris when she booked 90210 and as gong to post about this- then I rad that Very example up there! Hey, maybe she’s the only one who’s really going to pull this off since people are thinking, now, of the same example

I was just so relieved when I saw the IMDB pro account resume something or other option to hide the age. The problem is, other websites have picked up my age already. I unclicked age but I can’t see the change and it’s been more than a half an hour. I wonder if perhaps I’m Still being discriminate s against since I actually said something to them and I believe they have told me this information is Locked on my page. I would be devastated i I was singled out to have that uniquely on my page…but it doesn’t sound like I’m quite alone in this, thankfully.

And, btw, I have TAPE of people n Shock when they find out my real age. I am also an aspiring musician- who is to tell me I cannot pursue a music career bc my chronological age is older than I appear? Is it fair that it took me a bit longer to get here for personal reasons if I happen to look the same as a 28 year old and have more material and am stronger than her in some ways? Well, let me tell you, any label employee would run for the hills if they knew my real age. I had a deal with Atlantic at one point and when the A&R reps found out I was 30 instead of 27, let me tell you they flipped and it Did, indeed, add to the reasons things ended eventually. It has been my Job to keep my face looking young and whoever’s bog this is can should hang his hat on criticizing ladies of theatrics need for youth- not only is he wrong that no one looks younger than they are (hello- have you seen the skin industry in the past 10 years?), but he sounds arrogant and immature speaking about this topic in this way. Not to mention jealous, angry or something …off. (ignorant may be the word I’m looking for, though I am glad he opened this discussion!)

By: Renee

Renee — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:51:46 +0000

Speaking for myself, I know I look younger than 40 (my actual age) because I get cast in 32 year old roles. I am not delusional, nor do I want to play a teenager. I’m a character actress, and when a casting director says “we need a 35 year old to play this part, and they look at my IMDB and say “oh, she’s forty.” I then AM 40 to them, whereas if they saw me in person, they wouldn’t think twice about me playing a 35 year old. It creates another discrimination that is unnecessary in a business that is already (legally) aloud to discriminate for various other reasons. I’d be fine with an age range.

By: Iznyc

Iznyc — Fri, 21 May 2010 23:38:02 +0000

The examples you give of people not wanting their age shown on IMDB are too simplistic. Sure, those scenarios exist, but hiring someone who is best for the part can often take a turn when they know, or think they know, someone’s true age. Why should that number suddenly mean something (whether someone is on their fifth callback or whatever)? It’s hard to know if age specifically tipped a decision. No one would admit to that prejudice. Which is why that number shouldn’t be available in the first place. Go by look/talent/professionalism. Age can kill someone’s chances before they’ve even begun. And why? Because of a stupid website putting up data, and nobody asked them to.

By: Helen

Helen — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:04:13 +0000

it appears that IMDB has finally listened somewhat to its users… their resume product now allows subscribers to hide their age among other things on the IMDb Pro page! As an ex-casting intern, I can tell you that this is the page that matter most when it comes to age discrimination in casting. A step forward for us aging talent types. I don’t know how long this feature has been out, but I am glad it is here.

By: Eitan

Eitan — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:31:58 +0000

People love to say, “you’re the first choice” but that doesn’t always mean it’s true. If they’re shaky on hiring you they’ll look for excuses not to. “He’s got the same hair color as our lead, she looks like a guest star we had on last week.” Age is just another reason people can give to back out of why someone wasn’t their choice. In your case you obviously the best choice for the part (congrats, by the way) at the end of the day even though some people needed to be convinced. If they were checking your IMDb page for your age they weren’t so sure in the first place. If they were sure, they would have hired you at the outset and not cost themselves more money bringing you in two more times.

I’d imagine most gay actors aren’t “out” because there are millions of people in this country and around the world who would discriminate against them either personally or professionally. In LA proper there are lots of people who know the “secret sexuality” of lots of these stars yet they continue to get hired by those exact same people because it’s perception that matters, not the reality.

And it’s true that a lot of people’s “true age” is posted when they get that first hit but how would that explain the people who keep getting hired over and over to play younger roles even though we know their age. Those parts are specifically cast with people over 18 for legal working reasons.

By: tacoma007

tacoma007 — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:20:51 +0000

and p.s. most actors ages aren’t posted until AFTER they’ve already been cast, and their show/movie has aired, and some random from back home decides to post their birthday.

By: tacoma007

tacoma007 — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:13:16 +0000

actually, you are wrong. i can speak from my own personal experience from when i was recently cast as a 17 year old. during the first few rounds of the casting process, i was everyone’s top pick, cd loved me, producers loved me, studio and network loved me, that should have been the extent of it right? wrong…then, someone checked imdb, saw my real age, and they suddenly weren’t so sure. they had me come in 2 more times before i finally got the part. it is human nature to cast judgement, why do you think gay actors usually don’t reveal their true sexual orientation? …because its a little harder for the human brain to believe that the male romantic lead of a movie, actually likes boys. I’m not saying it’s right, or that every person thinks this way, but it is a fact whether you want to believe it or not. we subconsciously judge people based on all kinds of criteria…skin color, height, weight, sexual orientation, AGE…. now, whether imdb has the right to publish this information or not is another discussion, i have no problem stating the obvious, hair color, eye color, height and weight even…i personally don’t think they should post our age, because our actual age has nothing to do with the age we look. and again, once our little human brains know something, such as age, well it’s a little harder to imagine that 27 year old playing 17. and that small difference is sometimes all it takes to lose a job in this competitive industry. did you know that when your casting tape is sent to producers, there is a little box that pops up next to your audition, guess what it is? your imdb page. having your age posted on imdb is a huge discrimination problem, and something must be done.

By: You Don’t Want Feedback on Your Audition « Eitan the Actor Bio

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