TYPECAST

Eric Gutierrez was obviously trying to get on the same old soapbox: how Hollywood stereotypes Hispanic actors (“In the Game at Last,” March 16). But the people he interviewed refused to back up his argument.

Hollywood doesn’t have a secret agenda for typecasting Latinas. The fact is that Hollywood types everyone. Go to an audition and you find 20 people who are exactly the same type as you--a room full of Feisty Grandmas or Bald Bikers or Meek Accountants.

That’s the system. Breakdown Services sends agents a breakdown of what’s being cast and it’s all done by typecasting.

I can play lots of roles that I don’t get called in for. But what’s the alternative? Each agent would have to read every script and submit actors accordingly. No one could do it. So they send out a cast list broken down by types and hopefully the best actor in that type will be cast.

The Latino acting community has to play the game just like the rest of us. And they are--succeeding by virtue of their talent. I’m sure Gutierrez will continue to paint Latinos as victims. But according to SAG figures, Hispanic, non-Hispanic and black actors are working at almost exactly their representation in the U.S. population.

TIM TRUBY

Los Angeles

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How sad that Elizabeth Pena, Salma Hayek and other Latina actresses mentioned in your article have fallen into the same old American trap of “I got mine, now you go get yours” with seemingly no sense of responsibility to other Latinos in their profession, except to call them a bunch of complainers.

DON ROSENBERG

Studio City