ugliness not

while watching ugly betty on the telly tonight, me and the flatmate were commenting on how roles that seemed much more characterful had to be 'ugly'. it seemed the 'real' talent of an actress got clouded when she was too pretty. nicole kidman had to have a prosthetic nose to play virginia woolf in the hours. and hilary swank in million dollar baby, and boys don't cry? is plain-ness more acceptable, or familiar? somehow, a physical flaw needs to be made up by a powerful trait in personality before a character becomes credible.

and i wonder why that is, that i tend to identify with flawed characters much more readily.