Julia Duffy, best known for starring as Stephanie Vanderkellen on the hit CBS series ” Newhart,” said she’s frustrated with how TV and film writers are penning older, female characters as their age – instead of who they are as a person.
“You have to write the person and not the type, and it is very disappointing to me how much even younger writers seem to be writing ‘Aunt B’ or something when they write an older person and not an individual,” Duffy said. “I hope they’re listening, and I know you have the talent to do it. Make that a real person.”
At the time, Duffy was responding to podcast host Steve Kmetko’s ask whether “aging in Hollywood” has impacted her, to which she sarcastically replied: “Oh, not at all, Steve. It’s been fine.”
“Yes, it’s very awkward,” Duffy said. “I’ll tell you something that drives me up a wall because it’s symbolic of all of it: I have read for and actually played the role of a woman who’s older that they have named Merna, that takes place present day. Now, I know what people were named who are my age now. We were Patty, Kathy and Susie. These women that they write in older roles could have been at Woodstock if you’re having them be 70 today in 2024.”
Duffy starred in “Newhart” for all the show’s seven seasons for which she earned seven Emmy nominations. Her best advice for young actresses on the rise: show casting directors your full potential.
“You’ve got to show them, because they don’t really know anything. That’s what you have to do. You have to show them how you would play the role,” Duffy explained. “It’s very important because you’re not going to play the role in a way that you wouldn’t play the role and if it doesn’t work, that’s fine. But you have to ben sure what you would bring to the role and go with that and do it fully. And then at least they will see the scope of your talent in that area, whether it’s comedy or drama … they’ll see that and that can help in the future even if you don’t get it.”
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