UK actors are too ugly for US TV

[Mashinka]

This one is a gem!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandra...sh-TV-boss.html

Problem is here in Britain we're not over keen on certain US actors because they look a little too...... dare I say it ..........plastic!

Let battle commence.

[carbro]

Problem is here in Britain we're not over keen on certain US actors because they look a little too...... dare I say it ..........plastic!

There are those of us on the western side of the pond who agree.

I sometimes wonder whether faces that were obviously "done" have become so much the norm in the entertainment industry that their weirdness (at least IMO) is no longer apparent to the members of that community.

[Nanarina]

Problem is here in Britain we're not over keen on certain US actors because they look a little too...... dare I say it ..........plastic!

There are those of us on the western side of the pond who agree.

I sometimes wonder whether faces that were obviously "done" have become so much the norm in the entertainment industry that their weirdness (at least IMO) is no longer apparent to the members of that community.

Oh where , oh where, have all the dishy UK Actors (and Actresses )gone?? No where they are all still here.

[sidwich]

This article from the Seattle Times would beg to differ: British Actors all the Rage on American TV

I think everyone thinks something is working against them. Most of my American actor friends feel that they're being elbowed out by British and Australian actors because they are willing to work for less, and Canadians because the Candian tax credit system makes it so economically attractive to cast wtih Canadian actors. The truth is the business is tough for everyone.

[papeetepatrick]

I don't think American actors look 'plastic' except on the daytime soaps, where they seem to have been worked on really well for that hyper-gloss look, and are somewhat interchangeable. But I don't know British cable shows that well. Interesting points, though, in other areas, about superiority of American cable drama. Surely The Sopranos didn't go for plasticlook.

Also reminded me of the news presenters. I have noticed when watching Italian and French newscasts that they, esp. the Italian, do want EXTREMELY attractive people, like that goddess on ITN a few years ago (may still be(, Maria Luisa ? , can't remember whole name and Beatrice Schoenburd on France Deux (used to wear lovely sleeveless dresses in warm weather, unlike thos hardlooking suits in hard blue and fire engine red worn often here by Margaret Warner, and perhaps started back in the Clinton days with Hillary and Madeleine Allbright.

[dirac]

Thank you for posting the article, Mashinka. I'm not sure that the writer makes a very good case. American sitcoms are full of not especially appealing men (whose wives are generally played by actresses considerably more attractive). I suppose Kirstie Alley is prettier than Dawn French but the difference is surely marginal, and if Ricky Gervais wasn't considered right for American network television I expect it was because his personality and approach are singularly British and not because of his looks. The young actors replacing Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews in the feature film of Brideshead Revisited are evidence that the UK has its share of affectless pretty boys.

Good points, sidwich, and it's nice to hear from you.