When a body looks limp, un-energetic and like the person has an eating disorder (whether they do or don’t is another issue) its just not attractive to men or women. And sex sells remember? Being healthy is the main objective of an actor who really values his profession. His or her body should be in prime condition physically first, so he can later adjust it easily to the role. For example: if Spielberg wanted to do an action movie with you in it, and you had to give the appearance of someone who is strong and very active, if you have a healthy tip top shape body, its easy to gain a bit of muscle and definition. OR, If you are asked to play a rather ill person with cancer, lose a few pounds easily. OR if you are offered a “Bridget Jones” type thing. You can only adjust your body so easily (and healthily!)  if you generally keep it in prime condition. Overweight people have really hard time losing the weight, and under weight gaining muscle or weight. Let alone later getting back to how they were!!! So if you are in good shape and healthy and a studio asks you to lose some weight, do it, but do it healthily. And when you are done with the project work as hard as you can to regain your previous more healthy figure. Think that your body is a working tool and you need to keep it working for as long as possible, and that ONLY happens when its healthy and fit. So tell me, what do you think of this trend of skinny celebrities? Has it gone too far?

As an actor we have discussed plenty of things regarding your image: weight, health, teeth, height…etc. But one very important thing we yet have to address is SKIN. Yeah make-up can work miracles and we all know the magical wonders of concealer, but that’s not the point. The point is when you are up on a 12 foot screen at the movies, and your face is blown up for all to see and scrutinize, you dont want to look lumpy, or scarred, or painted with a coat of base so thick (in this case men always have more problems) you look like a drag-queen. And yes, a simple pimple can be covered, but when its an entire facial side with tiny lumps, you are basically giving the lighting team an extra half hour of work. Not good.

So some basic rules apply. Male or female. Young and old.

1- Dont go to bed with your make-up on. The old mothers saying about washing your face every night becomes a requisite for all actors, mainly because we tend to wear make-up 14 hours a day on shooting schedules and without the small “breathing” time at night, the clogs can turn UGLY…fast. I know an actor who carries baby wipes with him in the car so he can quickly take off the mask if he has to go somewhere after work.

2- Please dont overdo the tan! O.K. A healthy golden glow can be as simple as a few brushstrokes of bronzer. Or just the healthy habit of 15 minutes a day walking. But the whole 15 minutes a day in the “cancer booth” that makes you look like the old lady from “Theres Something About Mary” is the worst thing you could do for your acting career.Same goes for the streaky spray tans. Obviously if you just want to play the roles of tanned corpses on CSI Miami thats fine. But for the serious actors, remember you are a blank slate. Not an ORANGE one!!!!

3- SLEEP! I know its hard. I know that even after 16 hours on set, when you get home you still have responsibilities. But so do other people and they get paid alot less than we do. As actors its part of our job to show up rested and energized on set in the morning ready to give our best performance. And even just the late beers show instantly on those dark nasty circles under your eyes, the opacity of the skin tone, and worst of all, the dull and damaged skin from not being regenerated by sleep. So aim for as many hours as you can on the job. In between jobs also bear in mind the skin isnt as forgiving as we want it to be. And still keep up the rest, but its even more important when your face is going to be on thousands of screens in a couple of weeks.

4- Hydrate. OK. See here I used to have a problem. Whenever I would put on a facial creme to moisturize, I would do one of two things: sweat profusely or simply look greasy. But that is just because I hadnt found a creme for my type of skin prescribed by a dermatologist. It didnt cost me $500 and it worked wonders. So now instead of slathering on any old bottle I find in the bathroom or get in samples, I have a cheap miracle-worker designed specially for my skin AND my habits (I tend to forget to put it on in the daytime and only do it at night after showers). So find your formula and use it. No excuses. Dry skin can flake and even worse, can make the make-up cake which does NOT look good on screen.

5- For people with acute acne PROACTIVE has some very corny infomercials, but it has been tried and tested and proved to work by so many people I would definitely suggest making the investment. Its the only treatment I have truly seen work miracles (Im sure there are others but I never trust those before and after pictures because a friend of mine photoshops them for a living). With skin, its best sometimes to keep it simple and not lather on a dozen different products of different lines, and I think that might be why its also so good. They come with all your products: soap, lotion, cleanser, tonic…

P.S. Just so you know, when you are a big star, you can obviously pay or even just ask to have your close-ups photoshopped frame-by-frame which is VERY expensive and a little on the “too vain-narcissistic” side for my taste. Plus, the way technology is now a days, you can still tell when a part is being blurred out and airbrushed. Maybe in the future…

Its been studied by different advertisement agencies that the age demographics most prone to watch television is that between 18 and 40. That means that as most people like to see stories about people like themselves, shows are more likely to be about a group of people in this age zone, instead of one on a geriatrics. Its cruel, but its true.

In film there may be some more leeway to this rule but not too much. And worst of all, is they will usually “age” a woman in their late 40′s to play the character in her 60s. Obviously to the industry its better if the 50 year old can age gracefully too. And lets not get started on the problem of marketing. A new found talent in his 20s  can have a “Very promising” career worth investing in. Whereas a man in a similar position of talent in his 50s isn’t.

With all this said, its not easy to age in front of a camera. Being an actor plays the need to be “beautiful” or at least young n most occasions, and actors aging find it hard to cope. What do you do? There is no one answer, with hard work, lots of exposure, a good management team, its still possible to have the career most actors dream of, even a few decades later. But there is a few things you shouldn’t do: Try too hard to look younger.

Take care of yourself and PREVENT bad aging? YES. But if you are 49, look 49, there’s nothing worse than seeing you dress like a 15 year old, act like one, or get operated to look like one. At any age, you need to embrace your appearance. Some actors look way beyond their years and play more mature parts, and others are lucky enough to look younger for longer. But whatever your case, embrace how you look. No-one cares if you are 50 if you can play a 35 year old, or if you are really 15 but don’t look a day under 24. In this business reality isn’t what counts as you know. So play up whatever you have to offer. And believe that there is nothing better than aging gracefully…in this one, or any other profession. Look at Hellen Mirren, or Meryl Streep, Harrison Ford and Stallone?? (actually, ignore this last one. There was nothing graceful about his last movie.). All of us would love to have any of their brilliant careers AND futures.

Whether we like it or not, its true that your face is your fortune. If you are Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, or Brad Pitt, your face can and will open many doors for you; if you are not perceived as beautiful, reviewers might not focus on your acting. This happened to Kathy Bates, where critics like John Simon said things like “its a shame her leading man should play opposite an actress who is enormously overweight. ”

But Bate enjoys an enviable career as an actress (with an Oscar for her work in Misery) and as a director. And she has proven over and over again, that there are a lot of beauties in Hollywood and only one Kathy Bates. Its harder to carve out your niche when you don’t physically fit the Hollywood beauty standard personified by the likes of Angelina, Drew and Julia, but once in, know that they cant just get another pretty face to replace you!

I believe you can look very “off” and still reach all your goals in your career if you work hard and persevere in a focused and determined way. Know your strengths and focus on honing in your talents. Beauty wins, but beauty fades. So dont think of others and their standards, just work hard at being the best you that you can be. And that includes working on your body, on your image, health, but mainly on your skills and professionalism. If you work hard and persevere, your physicality should not be a hindrance to your career.