It's no secret that actresses, particularly middle-aged actresses, have a challenge finding great roles in our current movie system. Stories tend to be male heavy, and even younger females seem to have better odds at a gig with teen films, horror flick, and chatty rom-coms.But where is the dramatic meat for a woman? Some years predicting supporting actress nominations takes heavy devotion to even try to figure out what films have viable roles for supporting actresses.
But end of rant, let's turn to praise, for an actress I consistently enjoy, who not only is a middle-aged woman (57 years old) but also is Iranian.
Who do I speak of, but the lovely and talented Shohreh Aghdashloo.
Aghdashloo's name is probably most known for her Oscar nomination for the foreclosure meets cultural challenge film The House of Sand and Fog, where Shohreh was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for her exceptional performance. (Oddly enough, she soon reprised the Sand and Fog role with her on-screen son Jonathan Ahdout in season four of 24 with a very similar relationship.)Shohreh's filmography is apt to make you think she will take any role that's offered, and might just be the ideal type-cast for any middle-aged middle-eastern woman, whether Elizabeth in The Nativity Story, or an archaeologist in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Aghdashloo has a prestige film in circulation right now, The Stoning of Soraya M, about a true and tragic story of a stoning in modern Iran. I hope with the success of Slumdog Millionaire, there will be a desire to tell more stories that play on modern international themes, and perhaps Shohreh won't just have to settle for roles in films like American Dreamz, and X-Men: The Last Stand, but instead could use her artistic skills to inspire.
I can think of few actresses today that are as smart, stunning, sexy, and sophisticated as Shohreh Aghdashloo. Now she just needs to find the right roles in the right films.
