Molly Ringwald has a theory about why her career stalled, and it does not involve her acting. The Sixteen Candles actress, who has never been shy about her liberal politics, says the real culprits are Baby Boomers. In her view, an entire generation of Hollywood decision makers decided that people like her were not welcome.
“They made up their minds to hate any Gen Xer who wouldn’t side with Rush Limbaugh,” Ringwald said in a recent conversation about her career.
“They hated any Gen Xer,” she repeated. “That’s the whole story.” She went on to describe what she called two lost decades. “Nobody has looked at me for a serious part in two decades,” she said. “I’ve watched the roles go to other people over and over again, and I know why.”
It is a striking claim from someone who once ruled the box office. In the mid-1980s, Ringwald was the most famous teenager in America. She led a string of hits that defined a generation, and her face was impossible to escape. For many fans, she is still frozen in time, sitting on a kitchen counter waiting for someone to remember her birthday.
But when the question was put to the people who actually hire actors, the answer was not what Ringwald hoped to hear.
Production managers at the three big studios were asked whether anyone had blacklisted her. All three said the same thing. Nobody blacklisted her for being Gen X in a Boomer world. She just can’t act.
“I don’t say that to be cruel,” said Alexa Bruno, a production manager with more than twenty years in the business. “We all loved those movies. When her name comes up, everyone gets excited. Then you see the audition tape, and the excitement goes away. It’s not politics. It’s performance. That’s all this business ever comes down to.”
Another executive laughed at the idea that Rush Limbaugh had anything to do with casting decisions. “I’ve been in a thousand meetings,” the executive said. “Not once has anyone asked an actor what talk radio they listen to. We ask whether they can hit their marks and say their lines.”
The response online has been mixed. Some fans sympathize with Ringwald, noting that Hollywood has a long history of discarding women once they reach a certain age. Others say blaming an entire generation is an easy way to avoid a harder conversation.
Several of Ringwald’s former co-stars have continued to work steadily over the years, including some who share her politics. That fact has not gone unnoticed by her critics.
Ringwald has not publicly answered the studios. Friends say she believes the truth will come out eventually, and that one day the industry will admit it let a generation of talented actors slip through the cracks.
For now, the scripts are still not arriving, and the Boomers are still getting the blame. Her representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
