Orcas are one of the most successful species on earth, reigning at the top of the food chain.
I currently play Sharon Leone, the matriarch on last seasons No.
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS via Getty Images
But what if it can be created?
Diane Farr and Billy Burke on ‘Fire Country’.Sergei Bachlakov/CBS via Getty Images
But what if overlooking them is actually hurting movies and TV shows as well?
Ive played the female lead or romantic interest of the male lead on 10 television series.
And none achieved the same success.
Andrew Lincoln and Sarah Wayne Callies on ‘The Walking Dead’.Scott Garfield/AMC
Sarah Wayne Callieshad a similar experience to mine.
The film shared none of Sarahs previous success.
What we expect women to do is tell a lie.
Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan in ‘Father of the Bride’.Everett Collection
Why does this casting habit even exist?
Is it just to make older men seem more virile?
Here We Go Again if there is something his peers bring to projects that he finds valuable.
Jeffrey Nordling and Marcia Gay Harden on ‘So Help Me Todd’.Michael Courtney/CBS via Getty Images
Wisdom, he says.
Like good wine, you get better with age.
Let me tell you, Andys charm is stronger than the pull to the center of the earth.
Diane Farr and Billy Burke on ‘Fire Country’.Sergei Bachlakov/CBS via Getty Images
We have been very close friends for a long time, he explains.
There was no other person we all wanted to play my wife.
She was our first and only choice.
Chandra Wilson and Jason George on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.Bonnie Osborne/ABC via Getty Images
She is an extraordinary artist and I knew that our history would layer our relationship in the film.
Everett Collection
So can an actual connection at any age do more for a film than titillating casting?
Oscar- and Tony-winner and three-time Emmy nominee Marcia Gay Hardenthinks so.
Marcia says yes: For gravitas, it is.
The closeness of experience lends itself for more interesting character and relationship.
Otherwise it would sexualize the relationship, she notes.
Just like it does with a younger woman and an older man.
Like, once youve lost your baby-making viability youre inadvertently dismissed as sexually unviable.
Michael Courtney/CBS via Getty Images
Hearing this makes me lightheaded.
I call Joan Rater, one of the three creators ofFire Country,who I have history with.
(Her inability to edit the truth is my favorite thing about her.
Rater found hiring me at age 52 was a non-issue.
From casting to the studio and the internet, I was a green light and their first offer.
A year later, when I was ready to return to work, I screen-tested twice for roles here.
In both instances, I was the creators choice.
Letters were written to the then-president, and calls were made by the male stars pushing for me.
We need someone sexy.
Look at the definition of prime for women.
Once youre past 30, youre past your prime.
She went on to ask, How ridiculous is that, right?
So maybe we should change the definition, arguing that our 50s and 60s are our actual prime.
Potato Head model of male desirability.
Shouldnt the same be true for age?
Do characters bring a realness on screen?
I know you as a person to be authentic and on screen you also feel real.
So does Billy Burke.
Thats why we cast you.
Is it better if people represent the gender, nationality, race, and actual sexual orientation they live?
So far, as an industry, we believe it is.
A regime change has occurredat CBS since I was passed over as a leading lady.
I have now entered my 50s and relish bringing chemistry to the screen.
Warren took overLaw & Order: Special Victims Unittwo days afterChris Melonileft andMariska Hargitaybecame the sole lead.
Age parity is why I was able to keep the show going, he tells me.
And thats not the worst that can happen.
On screen and off.
Megalyn Echikunwoke and I starred in a series together when she was just 19.
Now 40, she released her first short film,Weathering, last year on Netflix.
Wondering if her experience as a young actress informs her casting decisions today, I ask about age parity.
As a director, the thing I find equally troubling is the creative risk.
Its also just not as interesting.
Tears come to her eyes: No one has ever asked me that.
Which is so sad because when I think about my experience… the answer is yes.
I approachedEntertainment Weeklyto write this piece because I am buoyed by other parities taking form.
I offered to include my over-40 colleagues here to give a fuller perspective.
I didnt imagine how much I would learn listening to them.
Diane, you have no idea, she laments.
How do you become a professional in a male-dominated field if there are no other females to learn from?
Slowly, Christina says.
When I was the newbie, there was no consciousness.
It didnt occur to anyone to guide me.
Liza had Mariska Hargitay to emulate when she finally got her first recurring role, onSVU.
So I know we can do it again.
