Though actress Kristen Bell has celebrated success on television (The Good Place) as well as providing the voice for one of the most popular animated characters in recent history in the Frozen movies, the Golden Globe-nominated actress struggled like most actors early in her career. In fact, according to Bell in an interview that appeared on Celebretainment, when starting out she was more criticized for what she wasn’t as opposed to being criticized for what she is as an actor.
Bell reveals that early in her career she faced criticism for not fitting into a standard appearance “type.” She explains, “I remember early on, getting feedback, that I wasn’t enough in either category. I would get feedback from an audition: ‘Well, you’re not pretty enough to play the pretty girl, but you’re not quirky enough or weird enough to play the weird girl.'” Naturally, that frustrated Bell, who thought that acting required a bit more than just fitting into two types. She continued, “I was like, ‘Okay, does that just mean I can’t be an actor? What does that mean.’ That’s what I was getting feedback on, on every audition.”
With an ever-increasing amount of content being produced for a variety of platforms, Bell believes that there are now far more options for actresses when it comes to role types. She says, “I think as I’ve grown older, those boxes have changed … and [have] almost gone away. It’s this huge gray area now of all these beautiful stories you can tell … that have dimensional people that don’t have to be one thing. It’s not the ’80s where you have to have the popular girl and then the nerd who gets the guy. It’s not that anymore and I’m really grateful for that. It opens up a lot of opportunities for everyone to play and pretend, which is the most fun part.”
