The problem with being the image in your head.
The last time we checked the role of an actor is to portray a particular reality for the benefit of the story being portrayed. That may theoretically be true but for Kim Catrall, an actress associated by her fans as one of the lonely over the 30 (okay 40) set looking to find Mr Right on the show Sex and the City (or our favorite Sex and the Nitty Gritty...) this was easier said than done. In a recent role she accepted as a washed-up prostitute for the independent film ‘Meet Monica Velour,’ Kim was asked to put up to 35 pounds for the role. Kim’s response- can we meet halfway, I’ll give you 15.
So concerned was the actress about her vanity and her perceived image that she felt compromising the legitimacy of the film might be a better option than risk compromising the legitimacy of her image, especially the image in her mind.
Reports theHuffington Post:
On watching herself onscreen:
“Oh, terrifying, really. Most of the time as an actress, you want to look desirable, you want to be pretty, you want to be sexy, you want to be lit properly — whereas here there were days when I didn’t even have any makeup on. There were days when they actually changed the light to make me look harder and more overweight or just more fucked up. I didn’t see the dailies on it because I thought, You know, I’ve made a stand here that I’m gonna do this in a very truthful way, and if I look at them they might scare me.”
One has to wonder what is more important – is it the image of the actress playing the part on the screen or is the image the actress playing a part for her own vanity and by extension that of society? Is it any wonder that the whole world is turning into a sugary puff plasticine doll too afraid to face its real self?
I have to say, Kim Cattrall is in her 50’s now, and losing weight at her age is extremely difficult. If she put on thirty five pounds, it would be incredibly hard to get rid of it again. In her shoes, I might make the same choice.