Long shots

Sometimes the little guy wins, Oscar edition

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook (I can’t see a way to link to it):

Brendan Fraser was told his looks were fading as a Hollywood hunk. He was a medical liability on-set. He was just a late 90s matinee idol. A fluff performer with a handsome face and little skill. Tonight he took home Best Actor.

Jamie Lee Curtis was a 'final girl'. A genre actress. Specialized in low budget trash, wasting her Hollywood royalty pedigree. Tonight she took home Best Supporting Actress.

Ke Huy Quan was a child actor. As he fell further into puberty, his roles dried up. He was the little Asian dork from those 80s movies, not a serious actor. He went 20 years without being cast because nobody thought he had talent. Tonight he took home Best Supporting Actor.

Michelle Yeoh was a Bond Girl whose looks were changing as she got older. An action star past her prime. Not 'lead role' material in Hollywood. Too old. Too unbankable. Too 'Asian' to carry a movie. Tonight she took home Best Actress.

Sarah Polley was a high school drop-out who was living on her own at the age of 15. She worked as an actress and writer during the day, and an activist by night. She was dropped by Disney for wearing an anti-war pin to an awards show, and a few years later, had her two front teeth smashed out by a riot cop during a protest over the Canadian conservative government. She wrote tonight's Best Adapted Screenplay.

There are a million barriers in life. Good guys don't always win. Underdogs don't always win.

But some nights they do.

Cheers to the underdogs.

What I find most interesting is that none of these people followed traditional career paths. It ties back nicely to my Monday post on Marc Andreesen’s career advice.

Keep it simple,

Edward