GLOW star Betty Gilpin recently shared some amazing insight on what it means to be a working actress in Hollywood.
Despite appearing in one of the biggest shows on Netflix, Gilpin still feels as though she has not made it in Hollywood. In an interview with IndieWire, when asked if she feels she made a breakthrough, she said “No. I don’t”
Gilpin then pointed out what her acting career consisted of before landing a lead role in Glow.
“I’ve been in this sort of strange sweet spot of making my living as an actor but not doing crazy big shows like this,” Gilpin said. “I’ve died on a lot of ‘Law & Orders,’ I’ve worked on ‘Nurse Jackie,’ but I’ve auditioned for a lot of what’s out there, which is like squinty cops in tight outfits who aren’t taking any shit in the first scene and in the second scene they’re naked and blowing the captain of the police force.”
“And I tried really hard to get those parts because I want my future children to go to school,” she said. “I tried really hard. Last year, I tested for a pilot called ‘Y’all in the Family,’ and I tried really hard to get it and just didn’t get it.”
Working actors do not have the luxury to pick and choose their roles. Gilpin points out that despite her “passion” for acting, she felt acting can be tough in Hollywood. “To get health insurance, you give up your dignity — that’s what I thought being an actor was,” Gilpin said.
However, the role of Glow spoke to her. “Reading this and thinking I could be on something where I could use the full expression of myself as an actor, in a feminist and powerful way, especially in this crazy time, was an opportunity that I almost didn’t allow myself to fully take in,” Gilpin said.
