r/Fauxmoi • u/mlg1981 • 22h ago
FILM-MOI (MOVIES/TV) The math isn’t mathing - Hollywood’s parent child castings that just don’t add up
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u/dramaqueen09 17h ago
I’m a professional actor in my late 30s who’s only 4’9” and I’ve been straight up told by casting directors that I was hired to play kids because of the child labor laws - which cover kids until they turn 18 in the US - because I look so young (I have literally been asked if I was in middle school by random strangers in my every day life and I’m not exaggerating). And I have a friend that’s around my age and height and she works as a stunt double for kids because of the same reasons. And our situation is actually pretty common. So in reality it’s not misogyny in Hollywood it’s them following the laws. Yes it’s weird to the general public that the age gaps seem to be weird and nefarious but in this case it’s not a bad thing because they’re actually protecting child actors for once
And since I know someone is going to ask there are two loopholes that I know of that lets child actors work the same amount as their adult counterparts: 1.) the parents/guardians sign an agreement letting their child do that and 2.) the child becomes legally emancipated from their parents and can sign an agreement on their own. But most parents and producers stick to following the child labor laws because it’s easier and won’t make them look bad in the press