Actors, regardless of gender, reach a point where they start playing parents onscreen. Character actors know this more than traditional leading actors.
Unfortunately, there has been a stigma in Hollywood over female actors and their decision to play mothers. The worry is that they won't be seen as "sexy" or "desirable" once they have played a mother.
The concept is a bunch of bull[droppings] since a woman's "desirability" shouldn't decrease a drop just for playing a mother. Also, men don't have this stigma and they aren't usually as involved with the children onscreen.
Rachel McAdams (she's Canadian) is playing Barbara Simon, mother of Margaret, in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Without knowing (or caring) about her age, she would seem old enough to play a woman who has a daughter about 11 or 12. Not a stretch. Hoping Hollywood still thinks of her and other female actors as viable in the roles she is used to playing.
Natalie Portman rolled the dice on this topic a few years back when she played the mother of Jacob Tremblay's character in Xavier Dolan film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan in 2018. Portman's strategy might have been to play a mom in a film that might not have all that much traction in the United States.
Portman did a really nice job in that film. The scene where she is chasing after him on the sidewalk was highly powerful. As far as most of Hollywood knows, Portman never played a mom in a film.
I thought the film was better than most people thought, though I can feel their complaints about the film.
Canadian film review: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
English Canada argues that they don't have a star system, and we generally agree. Quebec has its own actors, most of whom don't peek out into the English side.
Macha Grenon leaps into my head because I seen her play mother roles in English (The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom) and French (Familia). Grenon also played a mother as the lead in Nouvelle adresse on Ici Radio-Canada Télé. English Canadians might know This Life, which is the English language adaptation on the CBC.
Perhaps Grenon is known for doing well playing mothers and has that look. Plenty of American female actors play mothers and are often typecast in those roles.
We've seen Grenon play non-mother roles in French (Days of Darkness | L'Âge des ténèbres from Denys Arcand) and in English (Barney's Version).
Canadian film review: The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom
Molly Parker is seen saying goodbye to her daughter as she goes off to university in Essex County. That isn't quite the same as she does very little mothering in the 5-episode miniseries this spring on CBC. Her character provides some work as a aunt, which is like a mother but not a mother. Parker does a number of U.S. based projects but again, few in Hollywood will know Essex County even exists.
Parker played the mother of Kit (Dylan Authors) in Weirdos (2016) from Bruce McDonald. Then again, her character was not going to win Mother of the Year.
Canadian film review: Weirdos
Tatiana Maslany won an American Emmy and 4 (out of 4) Canadian Screen Awards for her roles in Orphan Black for 5 seasons. Sarah Manning was a mom to her daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler). Kira was smart enough to know which one was her mother, despite the clones. Cosima Niehaus did interact with Kira more than the other clones; Rachel Duncan, not so much.
Then again, with Maslany also playing Alison Hendrix, Helena, and several clones, maybe the motherhood part got pushed to the side. Siobhan Sadler (Irish actor Maria Doyle Kennedy) was more of a mother to Kira than Sarah was, having served as the foster mother to Sarah and Felix (Jordan Gavaris).
The Canadian system offers a lot more flexibility for female actors. Grace Lynn Kung, who is the lead in Wong & Winchester on Citytv, also plays a mom on Sort Of. Amanda Brugel played 7ven's mother on Season 2 of Sort Of. They aren't being typecast in Canada.
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The hope is that Hollywood overhauls its view on female actors, especially lead female actors, to realize that playing a variety of roles enhances a female actor instead of diminishing them for playing a "mother."
Rachel McAdams playing the mother in the movie adaptation of a Judy Blume novel should be the catalyst that changes the Hollywood mindset toward female actors. Even when they get to play grandmothers, female actors are still viable in my film world.
photo credits: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; The Death and Life of John F. Donovan; The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom; Orphan Black
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