Kim Cattrall; Hollywood Prejudice Against Older Actresses

Kim Cattrall feels she is “marginalised” as an actress.
The ‘Sex and the City’ star finds it hard winning roles now she is 54,
as casting directors are keen to get her to play characters who are
like man eater Samantha Jones, who she plays in the hugely successful
TV show.
She said: “Nobody wants to hire me unless I’m playing Samantha Jones.
Do you know what it’s like to be 54 and marginalised? It doesn’t get
any easier as you get older.”
Samantha admits prejudice in Hollywood is nothing new to her and she
has found it hard to break away from “sexualised” roles ever since she
started getting her first jobs – usually as sexy girls – in films such
as ‘Mannequin’ and ‘Porky’s’ in the 1980s.
She added to Reveal magazine: “I’ve been sexualised since I was a
young actress. If you want to get work as an actress – and not as a
waitress – you get sexualised. I think that can be part of your
journey, going through the Hollywood mill.
“Then you’re no longer as cute as the next crop coming up. It is
something I’ve been experiencing in one way or another in my entire
career.”
Kim – who is half English – said she has found a better attitude in
Europe, where she has received wide praise for her role in London play
‘Private Lives’ and in 2010 European shot thriller ‘The Ghost’.
She said: “One of the reasons I’ve come to Europe is because they tend
to think a little bit differently about getting older than people in
North America do.”