The Actress Association’s Actress Search no longer asks for the real age of the actors. The reform will serve both actors and Actors.
Ulla Virtanen is happy about the reform of the Finnish Actress Association. Henni Hyvärinen, MOSTPHOTOS
The Actors’ Union has undergone a reform, which means that the right age for actors is no longer being asked. Now the actors only report to the union their age, i.e. what age they think they could act.
Chairman of the Board of the Actors’ Union Antti Timonen says that producers, actors and actors alike need change.
– We have met demand. Internationally, this has been a normal practice for a long time. When it comes to camera age, it may not have so much to do with the right age, Timonen says.
When the Actors Association’s pages were revamped, the actor search service was also updated to this day. Through Actor Search, employers can search for Actors for their productions based on various criteria.
– When producers and actors have looked for people of a certain age, it may have happened – and it has happened – that suitable Actors do not appear according to their criteria. It has since been asked whether the actor in question is not in this search, and it has emerged that the real age is indeed something other than the age of the cameraman, and the producer thought he could have suited the role.
32-45 years old
Actress Ulla Virtanen is happy with the reform. Admittedly, he learned an important lesson as early as the 21st century while studying to act in New York.
– We were taught that age is never put on a CV. It must not be asked. I myself have always used only camera age, Virtanen says.
However, Virtanen and other actors have previously had to declare their real age on the Actors’ Association’s website. Virtanen emphasizes that it is not a shame of age.
– The reform will especially help those whose age does not match their camera age. The right age is not about acting, it’s about the age at which you can act. It is also influenced by costumes, disguise and co-actors, Virtanen explains.
Virtanen himself asked in his Facebook publication what would be a good age range for him to be a camera.
– I put 32-45 on my camera. I’m actually 41 years old, Virtanen says.
Women’s narrow roles
According to Virtanen, women in particular will benefit from the reform.
– This is especially important for women. The role of a woman is often to be either a single and a slender girlfriend, followed by a mutt and finally a grandmother. Girlfriends may still be 20 years younger than male actors, Virtanen describes.
– Many are intervening when there isn’t enough muti, but not that girlfriend anymore.
Virtanen hopes that the catalog in the series and films will be shaken.
– Entertainment and art are of great value. It would be good for us to see, for example, couples where a woman is older or taller than a man. It has a terrible impact on what we see, Virtanen says.
– I recently saw a couple of the same age in a series and it caught the eye in a good way. The eye is so used to what we see.
Virtanen has an important message for industry players.
– We Actors want to work as much as possible, especially after this corona pandemic, Virtanen emphasizes.