Kathleen Chalfant says refusal to get Botox or plastic surgery has helped her

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Tony Award-nominated actress Kathleen Chalfant said she hasn't had to audition for a role in years
Casting director Cindy Tolan said it is difficult to fine women who look their age because of what the entertainment industry has required of them
Kathleen, who lives in Brooklyn, said when she visits Los Angeles, everyone looks the same because of the work they've had done

Published: 09:45 EST, 16 November 2015 | Updated: 10:04 EST, 16 November 2015

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The pressure to stop the clock and look forever young seems to be never-ending in Hollywood, but one 70-year-old actress insists that her refusal to get Botox or go under the knife has actually helped to boost her television career.

Tony Award-nominated actress Kathleen Chalfant, who lives in Brooklyn, and has appeared on a variety of popular series such as House of Cards, The Americans, The Strain, and The Affair, says she hasn't had to audition for a role in years because so many directors and producers have offered her the parts; however, she admits that seeing her untouched face in high-definition for the first time was a jarring experience.

'The first time I saw myself on high-def TV was a shock - I felt I looked like the oldest woman in the world!' she told the New York Post.

Aging gracefully: Kathleen Chalfant, 70, said resisting the pressure to have 'work' done has helped boost her television career

Kathleen considers herself a member of 'the Judi Dench club' - a group of actresses who have allowed themselves to age naturally. And according to one casting director, her decision to avoid any surgical enhancements is actually a huge part of her appeal.

'It’s hard to find women who look their age because of what the industry has required of them,' Cindy Tolan told the outlet. 'It’s my hope that there won’t be a need for women to feel they have to get work done to find work.'

Kathleen admitted that although there the 'pressure is fierce' to have 'work' done in Hollywood, part of the reason she has resisted is because there is no turning back from a botched surgery.

Television star: The Brooklyn-based actress, who can be seen at the Nothing Like a Dame benefit in 2004, has appeared in popular series such as House of Cards, The Strain, and The Affair

Better safe than sorry: Kathleen noted that part of the reason she has avoided going under the knife is the fear that something could go wrong, and she would have to live with a botched surgery

'If something goes wrong, you can’t fix it, and it’s your face up there,' she explained.

Kathleen, who started her career as a stage actress in the 1970s, theorized that she has been able to resist the pressure because she 'wasn't ever a beauty'.

'It seems to me, if you’re a beautiful woman when you’re young, your identity is tied up with how you look, and there’s an enormous amount of pressure to somehow maintain that,' she said.

Kathleen also noted that while Botox has the power to make a woman in her late 30s look like she is 25, 'there's no skin left' by the time you are having it done in your 60s and 70s.

Plum role: Kathleen plays Noah Solloway's mother-in-law Margaret Butler in the Showtime series The Affair (pictured)

Showing her range: The actress, who can be seen on the red carpet in 2012 (left) and 2015 (right), is now starring in the off-Broadway play Rose, a one-woman show about matriarch Rose Kennedy

'When I go to LA, so many people look exactly alike,' she said. 'It looks like a whole bunch of people who’ve been in a terrible car accident and have had their faces reconstructed.'

Kathleen's talent combined with her willingness to age gracefully has helped her earn numerous roles, and the star revealed that she hasn't had to audition for any parts in the past few years, making her jokingly question: 'Did everyone else die?'

The actress is currently shooting the Netflix series House of Cards while balancing her rehearsals for the off-Broadway play Rose, a one-woman show about matriarch Rose Kennedy.