Hollywood and Hair loss: How Bald Characters Are Represented in The Media
Most men go bald. And they go bald because they're men. Two-thirds of guys in the U.S. will see noticeable hair loss by age 35, but it gets worse: 85% of men will have significant thinning by age 50.
Actor James Nesbitt said his hair loss affected his confidence and career and credited his subsequent hair transplants with helping him get better roles. "It was something I struggled with. And that was probably the vanity in me," he said at the time. So why does hair loss often hurt men this deeply?
Baldness is more common than we think and judging men's sensitivity around the topic, it's more stigmatized than it ought to be. Representation of physical perfection in the media leads many men to seek self-esteem in their appearance. Here at TSG, we wanted to look at baldness in the media, how it has been represented throughout the year, and how Hollywood has leveraged our fellow bald actors thus far.
BALD CHARACTERS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS
Bald characters were represented in the media since the 1920s in the early days of cinema. Still, baldness became prominent in the TV landscape in the 1970s and 1980s as cop shows became more popular amongst mass audiences. Shows like Kojac dominated the primetime hour, and around that same time, Steve Boccho was revolutionizing the police series with Hill Street Blues. Bald actors came to illustrate characters who were put in leadership roles, had had a strong sense of justice, and at times, took some heroic traits. Patrick Stewart, the inimitable Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation, proved that he could additionally be physically attractive and have sex appeal.
THE BALD ASS IN ACTION MOVIES
The early 2000s is when we started to see a resurgence of bald characters in lead roles, mainly due to their affinity with audiences in action-packed blockbuster movies. With the success of films such as Die Hard and The Transporter, we frequently saw actors typecast in these projects. Actors like Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, and Samuel Jackson became almost synonymous with the action franchises.
In many ways, it stands to reason that bald actors would be prime for action movies & thrillers. Studies suggest that men are often perceived as more dominant, more masculine, and stronger than individuals with a full head of hair. This is why bald actors are often portrayed as hyper-masculine, serious, anti-Social, hostile; They use justifiable violence and cannot show emotions.
From the late 2000s to the mid-2010s bald characters in the action genre continues to keep the same hyper-masculine traits they have had in the past. However, we also see writers subvert that Bald Bad buy trope by writing bald characters with more tender characteristics. This also happens when Hollywood notices the versatile appeal of bald actors beyond the traditional middle-aged male audience.
Bald characters are cast the most in Action movies involving heists, crime, and armed forces.
From the late 2000s to the mid-2010s bald characters in the action genre continues to keep the same hyper-masculine traits they have had in the past. However, we also see writers subvert that Bald Bad buy trope by writing bald characters with more tender characteristics. This also happens when Hollywood notices the versatile appeal of bald actors beyond the traditional middle-aged male audience. Actors like The Rock, Vin Diesel, and Dave Bautista, generally typecast in the past, have proven to have a bankable appeal with broader audiences in family-friendly projects.
BALDNESS, COMEDY, AND TV
Bald characters are featured more commonly on Television within the comedy genre. Bald characters to be represented generally in cast ensemble where they are recurring characters rather than the lead. Unlike the action genre, where characters are muscular and in great physical shape, the characters in comedy tend to be out of shape, overweight, or short in height. When it comes to the comedy genre in TV, bald representation is quite common as they are cast in sitcoms, mockumentaries & satire shows. By examining the most popular TV shows, we see an interesting trend: The majority of characters within the comedy genre fall into two segments: Bald men with cowardly traits and bald men with villainous traits.
Bald characters with cowardly traits tend to be the bud of jokes for their physical appearances, they often are clumsy and are easily manipulated by other characters in a show. Examples of that include Kevin from The Office or Buster from Arrested Development.
But in the opposite of that, we also get to see some bald character show some villainous traits, that is to say, that these characters are not necessarily the villain for a show, but tend to have traits that are associated with having poor morals, we see characters such as Frank from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Cowardly traits: Characters generally tend to be wimpy, clumsy, have low self-esteem are easily pushed over by other characters
Villainous traits: Characters tend to be mischievous, selfish, self-centered & have questionable morals
When it comes to television, bald characters are cast the most in Comedy
BALD CHARACTERS AS VILLAINS & ANTI-HEROES
In fiction, baldness often equates with a lack of moral fortitude. This can be traced to the ancient belief in hair as a symbol of health and virility, combined with the natural tendency for us to lose our hair as we grow old, and associating baldness with aging and death.
But despite popular beliefs, Bald characters are not over-leveraged in villains and anti-heroes roles. Looking at the top 100 villains in popular culture, only 21% of them are bald.
There are more full-headed villains than bald villains across movies and TV when it specifically comes to Sci-Fi, fantasy & comic books. There might be an impression that the Bald of Evil trope is more common than it is because, In these specific sub-genres, bald Villains tend to be more recognizable by the mainstream. They are often leveraged in franchises with popular fandoms such as Marvel, DC, Harry Potter & Star Trek.
IN CONCLUSION
Representation of baldness varies across the board. Though they are more prominent in action and comedy, we see them being represented across various other genres. In many ways, it stands to reason that bald actors should have achieved incredible success in Hollywood in recent times. They’re certainly well-suited to the role of the leading man, but they also highly visible in other roles as often are the source of comedic relief. Working on this research leaves me optimistic when it comes to the representation of bald characters in the media. Diverse representation means they have not been boxed into specific roles or characterization, and that is ultimately a great thing.