So, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle was on FX over the weekend, and because it was gray out, and because my sister and I would make kickin' Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore substitutes, respectively, in a Halloween recreation of the trio, I watched it again. And after revisiting Justin Theroux's performance as an Irish gangster, I really do appreciate that he's doing screenwriting work, and not just employed as a set of abs.
I haven't spent that much time in Los Angeles. But I imagine if you're a reasonably good-looking actor, which Theroux definitely is, it's relatively easy to just get by on that. If you're someone like Seth Rogen, forging a different path as a schlub sex symbol, getting into writing and producing makes sense so you can create the roles and plots that other folks aren't going to create for you. If you're Theroux, you don't need to do that. And you definitely don't need to be writing movies that you aren't straight-up starring in, as he's done with Tropic Thunder and now with Iron Man 2. You do that if you enjoy writing. It's not a deep observation. But I admire that.