casting ugly people
When actors are portrayed as fat or ugly in movies and TV, I often wonder about the casting process. What sort of cramped black hell does the actor endure when their unsightliness is not only hinted at by the endless bludgeoning snubs which the congenitally hideous naturally suffer, but by an ANTI-beauty pageant wherein their frightful visage is SANCTIONED and then presented to the WORLD as an example of how NOT to look? Open auditions for UGLY person! UGLINESS a MUST! If you're even remotely attractive, DON'T EVEN BOTHER!
Yesterday I caught a Seinfeld rerun wherein George Costanza is feigning near-blindness to a uniquely uncomely optometrist. "You're a very handsome man," George tells him, squinting. The optometrist then makes a face as if to say, Poor bastard must REALLY be blind! The unfortunate thespian is not only identified as ugly; he's forced to ACKNOWLEDGE it. What did the director say to him? OK, when George calls you handsome, you make a funny face, because you, I, everyone here—and soon, ALL OF AMERICA—knows you're NOT handsome!
I feel a small pinch of compassion for such actors until I realize that no one is forcing them to be there. In fact, they're so needy and desperate for attention, they don't mind being insulted so long as the red light's on and the camera's rolling.
Such is the vanity of the extremely ugly.
