Random Thoughts on Aging Stars

The other night I got sucked into "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert"  It's an Australian movie about 3 drag queens who take a long trip into the desert to perform their big show in Alice Springs.  Their ride; an aging bus named Priscilla. 

Now, I'd heard of this movie before, but never paid it any mind.  I'm a fan of horror flicks, comedies, the occasional drama, and documentaries here and there.  I'm generally not a big fan of indie films or anything that hits big in Cannes.  Now that I've finally seen it, I only wish I had seen this movie sooner.  

The stars of this film surprised the hell out of me.  Again, having only been aware of it in the periphery of my movie knowledge, I had no idea who was in it.  For starters, Guy Pearce was in it.  (You know, that guy from Memento.)  He played a total bitch and pulled it off.   Another surprise for me was Hugo Weaving.  Remember Lord Elrond?  No? Ok, how about the Matrix?  "Missssster Andersennnnnnnn"  Agent Smith (or as I think of him from the second Matrix movie..."The Smiths"

But the grand shocker for me was Terrence Stamp as the aging, yet stunning Bernadette.  His sexy, English accent, those smoldering blue eyes...how can you not find him totally irresistible?  Of course my first exposure to him was in Superman 2 as Lord Zod. "Kneel! Knee son of Jorel! Kneel before Zod!" (Oh my god, that was all from memory.  I am such a geek-a-thon.)  He was attractive then.  I saw him in the 90s in Young Guns.  Mmmm.  Sexy older man, sexy foreign accent.  To see him as a woman, but still hear that voice and see those eyes was a bit jarring, but he did it and did it well. 

The actual purpose of this post, though, is because I feel the need to share my lament over my favorite aging stars.  Terrence Stamp is old enough to be my father.  He is almost old enough to be my grand-father.  Almost.  The last updated picture I saw of him on IMDB had him finally starting to show his age a little.  He still looks fabulous, but how long can a man go without starting to look older than 55?  What bothered me was not his looks.  I was saddened by the fact that many of my favorite actors, such as Terrence Stamp, are going to die.  Some of them will die soon.  I know this is sort of a 'well duh' moment, but it just happened sooner than I'd expected.  Of course you know everyone is going to die someday.  You know that includes actors, singers, artists of all sorts, and even your favorite teacher in high school.  But having the reality hit me when I figured out how old Mr. Stamp was...well that was a slap in the face.

There's no point to this, really.  I just had to share.