In a world of castings that list exact measurements including height and weight, what’s a girl to do? Lie? That would be evil. But how do you play “the game” while not being the Hollywood ideal when it comes to size?
Be bold, be brave, and create opportunities.
I was born and raised in the business, and that means I was quite young when I heard what my weight meant in reference to my value and castability. Like most women, I’m not a perfect size 2, and even when I was, I found it hard to maintain and live a happy life. Now this is by all means not a skinny hating article. I believe we all have our sizes, and they may fluctuate as much as your career, or you may be naturally thin, and always be hassled for that. We all have our things. Mine, well, I’m naturally curvy.
What’s important, and also a hard concept to grasp, is that it’s ok. It’s ok to be your size, it’s ok to gain or lose weight because life happens. Your career is part of your life for life, and because of that you must allow yourself to live. Show biz goes up and down, and so will your weight. So what to do?
Step One: Accept where you are.
Acceptance is key in this industry. I don’t mean the industry’s acceptance. I mean your ability to accept yourself. This is the hardest thing to learn. You are castable. You are talented. But to get to that you have to take note of where you are and accept that. Look in the mirror and see yourself. Are you thin? Tall? Skinny? Curvy? Whatever is there, this is you and your current situation. Embrace it. Accept it. And don’t wait until you are at magical point on the scale. Accept yourself now.
Step Two: Find your Niche
Ok, so you’ve accepted yourself. Now what? Define yourself. This is also a very difficult step because the industry will be honest and harsh, but now the ball is in your court.
What are you? Who are you? Where can you put yourself? Now there are chances to change this and that’s fine. But right now if you were to walk into a casting, who would you be? The best friend, the villain, the girl next door? Ok not everyone wants to be the quirky best friend their whole life, but just because that gets you through the door, doesn’t mean it will be your whole life. So that’s your niche. Submit there.
Step Three: Manipulate the system
Sometimes you have to show them what they need. I’m not saying submit for a 100 pound 5’9 if you are a size 8. If they have specs, respect them. But if they are looser in the casting, why not submit. If they call you in, you may be the wild card, but you are in the room. This is your chance to show them an option they didn’t know they wanted. And hey if you don’t get it, at least they saw what you can do!
Step Four: Be the change you wish to see
Don’t see it. Create it. Changes don’t happen because people conform, or give themselves excuses. No changes happen because people are bold enough to make content that changes perspectives. Yes a size 14 can be an ingénue and the size 2 can be the best friend. Anything is possible if you create it. Put it out in the world.
The most important thing is to know that size matters in this industry, but it’s not everything. You can have a career at any size, and it’s all up to you. Accept. Find your Niche. Manipulate. Create. It’s your career, make it so.