IN the quote box at the bottom of page 2 on Feb 17, the actor Jeremy Irons states: “I keep thinking that I’ve played enough weirdos, but I can’t seem to help myself. I’m drawn to dark, enigmatic characters with secret lives.”

Well, I hope he never gets tired of being himself. Weirdos are characters actors, which means they are true actors. People make a living by whom they are, and when the person gets tired of being himself or herself, that is when he or she loses both his job and his income, which is the real tragedy.

Character actors, no doubt, wish that they could be more main stream and perhaps more physically perfect, which is what actors are supposed to be.

Beautiful actresses and handsome actors, on the other hand, spend their time hoping to get that “character part” that will finally do justice to their talent.

I remember watching an interview with the famed actress Elizabeth Taylor conducted just before she died in 2011.

Ms Taylor was initially cast in movies due mainly to her outstanding physical beauty, especially her eyes, which were said to be of an incomparable, mysterious velvet colour, and her absolutely lovely black hair.

Yet, Elizabeth herself never seemed pleased with her great physical beauty, and sometimes even became irritated when people openly remarked to her how beautiful she was. She wanted to be a character actress, and be known for her ability to act rather than her physical attributes.

During the interview, Ms Taylor said to the interviewer: “All my friends, who were better people than me, have already died. Why I am still here?” The interviewer smiled at her but did not know what to say. If it had been me I would have answered her: “Because you are so beautiful.”

Marisa Demori
Kuala Lumpur

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