Meryl Streep has been an A-List superstar long enough to notice a lot of changes in the film industry over the years.
And Streep felt some of these changes did more to hurt an actor’s ability than to help it.
Meryl Streep’s advice for young actors
Streep’s experience in the film industry has not only served the actor well, but it may have also served other aspiring actors. As a veteran that many idolize, Streep has sometimes used her platform to impart words of wisdom on her younger peers.
This included telling actors that they shouldn’t concern themselves too much with their looks while pursuing a role. Doing so could only distract someone from working on their craft.
“My advice: don’t waste so much time worrying about your skin or your weight. Develop what you do, what you put your hands on in the world,” Streep once said according to Stage Milk.
It wasn’t a mistake the Oscar-winner felt actors only made, either. She found that casting directors and filmmakers could also put a bit too much emphasis on an actor’s aesthetics. This could often lead to a filmmaker overlooking other qualities a performer might offer.
“I hate those meetings where you just go in and sit down – they just want to have a look at you. Well, then that’s all they’re gonna get – a look at you. And a ‘look at you’ is nothing. It’s nothing! You’ve got to imagine and see people’s work, because people’s work is where you’ll find whether they can do this thing,” Streep said.
Meryl Streep once shared why acting was harder nowadays than it used to be
Streep felt that acting may have become more challenging for other actors on the rise. She confided that there was more of a spotlight on celebrity appearances than there were back in the older days.
“The world was different when I was a young actress,” Streep once told Stylist (via Digital Spy). “These days there’s so much scrutiny, everyone’s so self-aware, and that self-consciousness is the thing that kills your acting ability.”
The Mamma Mia star noticed a possible trend with the newer generation of actors where they might have been focusing on what she once advised against.
“What you look like, and how you seem, is all young actors consume themselves with, instead of their characters. It makes it so much harder to be fresh all the time,” she said.
Meryl Streep was once told she wasn’t pretty enough for ‘King Kong’
Even Streep might have been misjudged or lost out on a role because of someone’s opinion on her appearance. In the mid-70s, Streep went to audition for a King Kong feature. But a producer at the time rejected Streep, feeling that the actor wasn’t attractive enough for the role she was screening for.
“‘I’m sorry I’m not beautiful enough to be in King Kong,’” Streep remembered telling the producer in an interview on The Graham Norton Show.
