The Retirement of Amanda Bynes

I was really shocked when I read Amanda Bynes stated she was retiring from acting at 24. I was sure I’d be seeing much more of her work onscreen in the future. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case and that’s going to be a huge loss for everyone.

With the retirement of Bynes, Hollywood has lost one of it’s the best performers. A talented comedienne, a solid actress, and a consummate professional who lived a clean life on and off the set. Honing her skills over the past fifteen years, in sitcoms, sketch comedy and feature films, Bynes developed perfect comic timing and a strong screen presence. She always gave strong performances with a lot of heart and passion.

It’s an understatement to say liked Amanda’s work; I never missed an episode of What I Like About You and even saw some of her movies like Lovewrecked and She’s The Man. She was a delight to watch onscreen and I was sure I’d be hearing her acceptance speech on Oscar night in a few years. She was that good. I always felt it was a matter of when she’d find that breakout project and take her career to the next level.

While her reasons for leaving acting are her own, I understand that she’s making the right decision for herself. It’s better for her to move forward and discover what makes her happy rather than stay in a career she isn’t satisfied with. After reading about so many tragic ends for child stars while doing my research for All About Marilyn, it’s great to hear about a former child actor leaving the entertainment industry on her own terms rather than in a body bag.

So why am I writing about Amanda Bynes and not someone more popular say like, Michael Jackson or Gary Coleman? Well Amanda’s work onscreen inspired me to write. When I was writing All About Marilyn, Amanda’s high-strung performances inspired me to create the Tabatha Strong character. When I was writing her, I heard Bynes’ “voice” as Tabatha.

For those who think I’m colorstruck: If Salli Richardson were to retire from acting, she’d be getting a blog post too. And a much longer one at that. Her work had an even bigger impact on my influencing my writing; her performances inspired three characters in four different books.

Amanda Bynes probably won’t ever read this, but I’d like to thank her for entertaining me these past few years and inspiring my writing. Maybe if I’m lucky there will be a chance to see her work again.