It might have been a post about when I worked with the BBC and witnessed first-hand what goes on with grooming young actors, especially women. Fashion loves to take young actors and turn them into models to promote their wares (that typically only the well-heeled can afford) and over the years it has become custom.  

Instead of doing theatre, working towards bettering their craft, you’ll see young actors doing modeling, instead.  In the UK, drama schools are notoriously expensive, so gaining experience that way isn’t always possible, and with repertory theatres mostly a thing of the past – modeling can be lucrative as well as help you in other ways.  Modeling, though, places emphasis on their looks rather than their talent and if you don’t get how that works for an outdated, patriarchal, sexist system (especially when these young women are dressed up in overtly ‘feminine’ or sexualised couture that makes them resemble dolls), I don’t know what to tell you.  

Actors have always ‘modeled’ for mag covers, doing photo shoots for films they promote (and it is all about promotion, getting your face seen), and it has been seen as a necessary evil – but if it becomes your main reference point on your career – how you look vs. any actual talent – well, we’ve seen what it does to people. If you don’t have the right mindset, it can be incredibly destructive. 

I’m reminded of Brittney Spears shaving her head – probably one of the best-known moments of a young star, used by fashion and media and the entertainment industry as a chew toy – deciding she’d had enough. 

Emma Thompson has spoken out about this, but, going back to what I wrote earlier, if you want to get into acting, you need money and representation. Drama schools and universities with theatre programmes are for those who can afford them (Thompson comes from a time when it was a wee bit easier to get into acting than it is today).  It’s sometimes a clever thing to seek out modeling jobs to get your face seen, but it is limited and limiting and really has a short shelf-life for an actor. And if you’re not in the right mindset for it, for the instant gush of attention and something fame-like, notoriety, say, imagine how that can mess with your head. If a part of you swells up, and isn’t treated, it’s likely to burst. 

Emma does say something in this interview (linked above) that I wish would be a mantra for young actors (or anyone wanting to do something creative/entertainment-based), basically – don’t look to be famous. Don’t try to be a star. That’s a byproduct of your work. It’s fleeting and we should all make careful choices so we can do what we love and enjoy it and be fulfilled by it.