Monday, December 1, 2008

AWAS: An Introduction



Welcome! This site was constructed with the intention of honoring the numerous actors who have battled with the skin disease acne vulgaris (commonly known as acne) and have been branded with its scars.

I am a movie lover and I've always appreciate an interesting face. A strange face. A grizzled face. An intense face you know? I like a face with character. I like wrinkles, deformities, and savage dirty facial hair. I like when a face is dimly lit, and you can see large shadows crisscrossed over the deeply mangled mug.

I also, have been battling acne for some time. Although it has not severely scarred my face it has left behind wounds of war. I began to appreciate these wounds. Around this time I also began to notice that this particular facial stamp covered a wide range of talented actors. In addition, some of these actors covered a wide range of characters in their work. From sniveling weasels, to the most chiseled heroes. I began to take note.

According to Wikipedia, Acne scars come in 4 categories.
“Physical acne scars are often referred to as "Icepick" scars. This is because the scars tend to cause an indentation in the skin's surface.

Ice pick scars
- Deep pits, that are the most common and a classic sign of acne scarring.
Box car scars
- Angular scars that usually occur on the temple and cheeks, and can be either superficial or deep, these are similar to chickenpox scars.
Rolling scars
- Scars that give the skin a wave-like appearance.
Hypertrophic scars
- Thickened, or keloid scars."

I think I will mainly stick to a 1 to 5 rating scale. 1 being lightly peppered, 5 being English Muffin face. This is by no means a way to merely poke fun at these actors. This is a dedication. Also it is to encourage any aspiring actors out there that may feel their chances of landing that first role is hindered due to their acne scarring. Man fuck that. Let me throw this scenario at you. Let’s say you are a casting director, and you are searching for someone to fill the role of “Thug # 2: Bobo” in a big action movie. “Thug # 2: Bobo” is going to crash his motorcycle in through a store front window in a crazy fan of glass debris. He’s going to wave a big machete around and order the cashier to empty out the register into his bag. Then he is going say something like, “Bobo like pretty lady!” before attempting to rape the leading female character. He will then get shot down gloriously by the hero while volcanic eruptions of blood dramatically explode from his chest. It may even happen in slow motion. You got two guys auditioning for the role. Both equally looking the part but, oh man, one crucial difference. One has acne scars and the other does not. Who do you think the casting director is going to go with? That’s right.

If you would like to recommend your favorite acne scarred actor, please send an email to:
actorswithacnescars@yahoo.com