Little actors want a bigger role

In Hollywood, where hundreds, sometimes thousands, of performers will compete for one role, actor Michael Gogin has been known to walk out of auditions -- over what he sees as issues of taste and fairness.

Take what happened five years ago when the 4-foot, 3-inch actor went for an open call for "Night Stand," a short-lived parody of television talk shows. The script called for him to be a singing, dancing dwarf, a Frank Sinatra type with an outsized masculinity, Gogin says.

"I went back to the producers, and I said, 'You know? I'm really insulted by this,' " he says, describing the role as a demeaning, one-dimensional, over-sexualized caricature of little people (the descriptor preferred by those with dwarfism). Gogin walked away from the casting call.

Gogin will play elves and leprechauns, as long as they are charming, kid-friendly and beloved -- not evil or demonic, as in the horror flick "Leprechaun."

With 27 years of experience, Gogin feels fortunate that he can choose his parts to avoid stereotypes. He and some of his peers feel so strongly about the casting and parts available for little people that they have been battling since February to form their own committee within the Screen Actors Guild.

Eugene Pidgeon, an actor who is spearheading the effort, explains that the group hopes to raise Hollywood's consciousness so writers, producers and casting directors understand that little people aren't freaks, fantasies or stereotypes but skilled professionals who can and should get to tackle major and serious roles.

But, as with others in Hollywood's talent pool who feel stigmatized or marginalized for reasons as varied as race, gender or sexual orientation, a significant challenge facing short-stature actors is agreeing on key issues and problems and how best to negotiate remedies with the industry.

Ever since Pidgeon, 48, first saw the WB's "Gilmore Girls" and its mix of eclectic characters, he has labored to get a little person on the show. He's offered himself for the role and even written a treatment to show how he would fit. His yearlong campaign has only resulted in frustration and anger -- emotions he says typify the experiences of the little people when dealing with Hollywood.

Pidgeon barraged the show's representatives with letters.

"It's our job to be open," says "Gilmore Girls" casting director Jamie Rudofsky, "but also to stay with our writer's vision."

While Pidgeon still hopes to see a short-stature actor on "Gilmore Girls," the exasperating experience underscores to him that "every one of the dwarf actors (is) not being used to their full potential. That is, until Halloween, leprechauns, St. Patty's Day or Christmas, we, as a general population, are considered an afterthought, as fringe players."

SAG's help in recognizing short-stature actors would be a huge step toward "dismantling the antiquated, prosaic perception of dwarfs in the Hollywood hierarchy," Pidgeon says. He hopes to set up a subcommittee for actors like him, as they now are grouped under the umbrella of people with disabilities within SAG.

Pidgeon wants to see short-stature actors considered for more substantial roles. "If you're going to cast a show, at least be willing to see a dwarf in an audition," he says. "If I don't get a role, that's fine; but if I don't get a legitimate opportunity to vie for it, then that's criminal."

So why haven't producers, writers or those with casting powers been more expansive about hiring short-stature actors? Casting director John Papsidera says he has found work for little people during his 12 years in this business. But he lacked the power by himself to hire a short-stature person. As a casting director, "you can push the envelope, but ultimately it's up to the filmmaker and the production to decide whether they will go in that direction," he says.