Actress Marlene Forte Is Over 60 and Living Her Dream

You may not know Marlene Forte’s name, but you have most definitely seen her on the big and small screen.

From the Golden Globe nominated film Knives Out and JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, to TNT’s Dallas and AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, the Cuban-born actress has had a consistent, successful career portraying every type of character imaginable. With each role she takes on, Forte is redefining a formula of proving Hollywood wrong by continually breaking through the industry’s stereotypes when it comes to older women.

Now 61, Forte entered the business at age 30, which is nearly unheard of in the entertainment industry.

Most recently, Forte can be seen regularly in Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and ABC’s The Rookie, and she took some time to talk more about her creative career with OFM. She also touches on being a shining example of how women can make it in Hollywood on their own terms and carving a niche for the Latin community by tearing down the barriers that often surround ethnic minorities.

Marlene, you decided to pursue an acting career when you turned 30, which is considered late by Hollywood standards. What was the decision behind this?

I wanted to be an actor since I was 10, but I am a Catholic immigrant daughter that married my high school sweetheart, blah, blah, blah. I almost went to law school, and that’s because this is what immigrant children do. They don’t become actors. I was 28 at this point, and I had my own video rental store. My husband didn’t want me to become an actor. He wanted to have more kids, but I was like, if I don’t do this now, then I’m never going to do it.

A friend of mine called me from New York, and she said a new acting company called the Latino Actors Base (LAB) was starting. She was auditioning, and she wanted me to come with her and be her reader. I agreed, and we did the female Odd Couple. However, I got in, but she didn’t. She eventually did, but it took a couple years. I was like, this is a sign from God. I need to do this. I was already divorced, and my daughter was very young, but I just knew in the pit of my stomach that if I had any more children, this was never going to happen.

So, I decided to be a part of this company. LAB later became LAByrinth, and I ended up being on stage with the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sam Rockwell. Like, oh my God! I’m learning from these masters! I like to say that LAByrinth was my MFA in theater because I didn’t go to school for it. I was an English-Lit major, and I was going to be a teacher, lawyer, or something. Anything but the arts, but I think that was the beginning. That was the push that said, if I got into this thing, then I know I can do this.

Since you started, you have been in countless films and TV shows. Do you think you would have found the same kind of success if you waited any longer?

I really don’t know. I meet older actresses that have had other careers, husbands, and wives, and they’re like, how did you do it? I said, you just do it. The thing about this career is that it’s not like an athlete, where you’re retiring by the time you turn 30. I see mothers, grandmothers, and older people on TV all the time. I’ve done everything for everyone else, but this is for me, and I tell people that all the time. As long as you can memorize lines, you can do this.

What advice can you offer those who want to break into the business but feel they can’t because of their age?

I don’t think age is the problem. When I started, it was the era of Melrose Place, and I didn’t have the credits that those 28- and 29-year-olds had. People were like, you want to be an actress? Sure, whatever. However, I do speak Spanish fluently, and I took a weekend commercial class and got my first commercial agent, Abrams Artists. They’ve been my agency throughout my entire career, and I got into the union with an Alka-Seltzer Plus commercial in Spanish. So, these things didn’t happen overnight. It took a long time. I’m 61 and have 30 years under my belt, but it took a while.

I think my biggest advice to people is to find a community where you can grow in, and for me, that was LAByrinth. If I hadn’t gotten into LAByrinth, I don’t know what type of career I would have had. Even though I was on stage, it took me seven years to get an agent. Commercial agents are easy, but the rest took time. Also, because I was older, I just wasn’t in a hurry. I didn’t have that need being like, I need to become famous by a certain time. Fame wasn’t a thing for me. I just wanted to be able to make a living as an actor and do what I love.

Simply, you have the passion for it.

Yes. That’s what I wanted to do, and the rest came a little later. I don’t really think I’m famous now. People recognize me because I’ve been in so many things, but they don’t know from what (laughs).

They recognize your face, not the name.

Exactly!

I love that with each character you play, you are breaking Hollywood’s stereotypes when it comes to older women and carving a niche for the Latino community by tearing down the walls of ethnic minorities. Do you feel like the industry is getting better with this?

Yes. It’s not great, especially for aging women, but I think things are moving in the right direction. I like to watch a lot of English shows, and they all have older women! Maybe I just need to move to London (laughs). Women are continuing to break down barriers, especially now that we have a female Vice President, but unfortunately, I don’t think we’re there yet. I also try not to look too closely at myself. I don’t want to start doing something to my face, like fix my nose, and then people are saying, who are you? That is my biggest fear.

I’ve always played my age, but most women don’t want to do that. I have friends who will get an audition, and they’re like, this character is 59 years old! I’m just like, don’t look at that. Look at the breakdown and become that character. Trust me, casting directors want you just to be that person, so go in there and be that person. Don’t worry about your age or having wrinkles. I was watching a lot of stuff when I had COVID, and I love Naomi Watts. I couldn’t stop looking at her face because she hasn’t done anything to her face. Like, oh my God! She looks like me!

I wish more women would have the courage to do that, but it’s sometimes beyond courage because some people won’t cast you. I’ve lost roles to people who are my age. They’re like, you just look older, and then I’m like, but she’s my age! It sucks, but you must stand strong. You have to break those stereotypes as an actor. Even if that character is 59 or 60, I’m going to show you who this person is.

One of your best-known roles is playing Carmen Ramos on the television soap opera Dallas. What did you enjoy the most about portraying this character?

It’s funny because I never really watched the original Dallas. So, when my agent called me to audition, I was like, you want me to play the maid? Is that what you want me to do? But my agent was like, it’s not the maid. She is Elena and Drew’s mother, and she’s this, she’s that, and she runs the house. I said, okay, let me read it, and I knew I wanted this role by the time I got to my car. That never happens. It was so simple for me.

After I got done auditioning, I went downstairs, and my phone immediately rang. My agent was like, what did you do in there? I said, I was just being this character, and I think that’s the secret. Don’t try to figure out what they want or what you think they want. Just put yourself in there. The lines and the character breakdown are all the same. The only difference is the person speaking it. I believe your unique personality is what’s going to color those lines to make it come off. There are a bunch of people out there that look like me, but they haven’t walked in my shoes. They don’t have the u-haul of experiences that I could infuse into that.

As of late, we can see you in Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and ABC’s The Rookie. Can you talk more about who you play in those shows?

The first, and this is another good story for an upcoming actor. I auditioned last year for The Lincoln Lawyer’s main judge, but I didn’t get it. However, they offered me a one-day guest starring role to play Judge Teresa Medina. My agents were like, you can’t do it. You can’t take a one-day after going in for such a big role, but I said, I really liked this part. She’s a judge, she’s smart, she’s funny – she’s basically Judge Judy but Latin. It’s well written, and I actually went over their heads and accepted. That was last season.

In November, I got a call from my agent, and they’re like, I have good news and bad news. The good news is they want you to come back to play Judge Medina for seven out of 10 episodes. The bad news is they don’t want to give you a contract, blah, blah, blah. I didn’t care because this was seven out of 10, and I thought, I wonder if this would have happened if I initially passed on the role. So, that’s who I play. Medina is a LA judge, and I absolutely love this show. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but I think it’s very diverse.

Then in The Rookie, I play Karla Juarez, the mother of Celina. She’s a painter and she’s got agoraphobia, so she doesn’t leave the house much, and there are reasons behind that. She’s funny, delightful, a little kooky, so basically me. There are times I don’t like to leave the house either! But let me tell you, to be able to do two shows at the same time in LA, playing two very different characters, it’s been so much fun.

What do you hope audiences take away from your work?

Wow, that’s a question! I like to make people feel things. I hope to make people want to empathize with this person and understand them, maybe see themselves reflected a little bit and recognize the humanity in themselves. That’s what I mostly try to do with my characters. Humanize them.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career?

I would love to sell the sitcom that I’m working on, and I’d love to be in a position where I can create more content for my community and older women. I would love to see more shows like All in the Family, because through comedy and laughter, you can really feed people something. If you get people to laugh and open their mouths, you can connect with them. Ironically, I’ve made my living crying in front of the television (laughs). I haven’t done that much comedy, but I’m hoping to be able to make that switch.

So, I am working on a comedy because my life is stranger than fiction. I moved my parents in with me during the pandemic. They were in Florida, and my dad got very sick. They’re in their 80s, and I didn’t want to leave my mom down there, so I moved them out here to California. We thought my dad wasn’t going to survive, but it’s amazing what a little sunshine and love can do. He’s still with us, but things have been a bit hard. My husband is a writer, and I said to him, we need to concentrate on the funny. I want you to write me a pilot about a woman who decides to bring her parents to live with her. That’s my future project, and I hope to be able to create more content like that.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?

Yes, I am in this upcoming movie that’s based on the amazing book Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It’s been on the festival circuit and it’s doing so well. It has Eva Longoria and an all-Latin cast, and it’s one of the most beautiful movies I have ever been a part of. I love that book so much, and I was instantly onboard to be involved with the film. I play Tia Ophelia, the aunt. The movie hasn’t been sold yet, but it’s been doing very, very well at festivals. So, watch out for that one, and then I have another movie called Hypochondriac, which is about mental illness and on Prime Video right now.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Forte by following her on Facebook and Instagram @marleneforte, or visit her official website, marleneforte.com.

Photos courtesy of Marlene Forte