Happy Mother’s Day from Casting Frontier!
Working as an actress can sometimes be challenging when you have a baby on the way. After all, what happens when an actress becomes pregnant and the role she is playing specifically calls for a woman who is not expecting a child?
While there have been cases when producers changed the storyline to include a character becoming pregnant and then having the baby, this is not always practical or even possible. Sometimes a production needs to utilize optical illusions to conceal a pregnancy from the audience.
For example, Kerry Washington’s attempt to hide her pregnancy while playing the role of Olivia Pope on ABC’s Scandal proved tough, but she appreciated the opportunity to discover more about her character. “It’s been an awesome challenge for me as an actor because so much of how I access character is through my body,” Washington said.
Kerry is not alone in the challenges that accompany an expecting actress; other actresses have pulled off baby bumps in the past as well–and audiences may have never suspected a thing.
Take Shelley Long, for instance, playing Diane Chambers, who was trying to decide if she should pursue psychiatrist Frasier or the bartender Sam in the bar-room sitcom Cheers. And consider Patricia Heaton who was pregnant twice while playing Debra Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond–one of which was written into the show featuring pregnancy flashbacks before Debra had her daughter Ally. Her second pregnancy was concealed with optical illusions. In Friends’ 10th season, Courtney Cox hid her baby bump–which was especially important for the storyline considering it had previously been established that Monica, her character, and Chandler, played by Matthew Perry, were unable to conceive. And who would have ever guessed Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable in The Cosby Show, was pregnant during season three?
In such cases, the crew can really come to the rescue:
Set designers and camera operators often have to work hand in hand. Simply sitting an actress behind objects such as a table, chair or couch will conceal a baby bump. Couple this with strategic camera angles in which a fellow cast member’s shoulder or an item in the forefront of the shot covers an actress’s belly and no one in the audience would know. Other camera angles include deliberately avoiding panning too far down – rather shooting from the waist – or even neck–upward. In Phylicia Rashad’s case, the producers went as far as to scoop out a hole from a mattress to hide her baby bump!
The wardrobe department can help too by fitting an expecting mom with loose clothing such as oversized stylish coats as well as using dark clothing like in Kerry Washington’s case (aprons did the trick for Shelley Long).
The prop department can also chip in to help camouflage a pregnant belly by providing relevant items for the character to carry. Washington’s Olivia Pope character often carried a large handbag or important documents whereas a laundry basket served the same purpose for Heaton’s role of Debra Barone on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond.
When the crew comes together to assist in an actress’s ability to play the role using any combination of these techniques, the result is a well-supported actress who can focus on her craft. Kerry Washington expressed her appreciation toward the producers of Scandal’s ability to work around her situation. “I feel very grateful that we have such an amazing team that was able to protect the character within the context of what the actress was going through,” she said.
That said, studios and production companies will not make such accommodations for everyone. If you’re an actress who is interested in motherhood while still pursuing a career in film and television, you’ve got to prove how indispensable you are to the production.
At the end of the day, this is a tough business, and tough business decisions have to be made. The good news is that if you prove to be a valuable commodity by being on time, prepared, well-trained and a true professional, then the folks in the industry will work with you as best they can. So go out there and prove the value of your talent!
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