I tend to believe that if different casting decisions were made here and there, Romola Garai would have the same kind of standing in the acting world as Carey Mulligan. To me, they’re at the same level. The difference, perhaps, is that Romola has made some weird choices in film and TV projects. But she’s very, very talented and she gives off the same kind of educated, classy vibe as Carey. I might even argue that Carey’s performances are at times too studied, too conservative. Anyway, Romola and Carey worked together in Suffragette, the film that I’m sure will be a decent awards-contender this Oscar season. Romola did some advanced promotion with a new interview with the ES Magazine. Like the last time we covered Romola – back in 2012!! – she has a lot to say about feminism, the film industry and more. These quotes are actually pretty hardcore.
The humiliation of actresses: “I work in an industry where it is still acceptable to humiliate women. You are expected to wear certain clothes because they are selling a show on the way you look. If you have been waiting tables for two years and somebody gives you a job on a massive TV show and they say ‘we want you to get your t-ts out,’ you’re going to f—ing do it. Then you have to wait to be powerful enough to say ‘no,’ but then you have to be a producer. As long as films are being made by five guys who know that ‘if she gets her knockers out’ this film will make $10 million more, then it’s not going to change.”
Being scouted when she was just a girl: “I was only just out of being a child. In the Hollywood studio system you are just a commodity to sell films with.”
Diets and control: “There are so many actresses who are happy to be on a diet for the rest of their lives. For me the weight thing is a metaphor for control. Making women feel weak because they’re so insecure so they won’t disagree with the director or studio. Women feel afraid they’re going to lose their careers, afraid of being fat or ageing. If you can’t get into the dresses, it is a really big deal. I just want to be employed by people who love me as I am.”
Hollywood “fosters a lot of bullies”: “I felt throughout my twenties that if I were a 40-year-old man, people wouldn’t mind so much when I didn’t agree with them.”
She’s not wrong. For the argument she makes about female nudity… I’ve always believed that most actresses know what they’re signing on for ahead of time. Like, at this point in filmmaking, everything is hashed out ahead of time with contracts and nudity clauses and all of that. Is that just wishful thinking on my part? Perhaps. As for what she says about diets and weight being a metaphor for control… that’s a really interesting observation. Huh. Anyway, I wonder if Romola is going to get any backlash for speaking with such candor. For what it’s worth, she doesn’t seem all that concerned with Hollywood. She mostly works in British stage and television productions these days – Suffragette is her first role in an American-produced Hollywood-y film since her small part in 2011’s One Day.
Photos courtesy of ES Magazine, WENN.
An articulate, intelligent and emotionally mature actress…that we should celebrate!
I was tired of seeing young , stupid women like that ” divergent” girl denying feminism…or even worse, some ” full of sh…” privileged girl like G.Paltrow, who seems to think that everybody should aspire to have her life.
I don´t..
Right on!
Definitely!
I agree–loved her in “i capture the castle” back when she was just a kid and have followed her work since then. She’s talented and a smart woman who speaks her mind.
I loved “I Capture the Castle.” Sure, it’s a bit cheesy and twee, but darn it if I wasn’t weepy (in an affirming way, of course) by the end! She was also in “The Hour,” which was a good BBC show. It may be still on Netflix…..
I love her, she is good in everything. She works steadily on British t.v. and I do think she’s much more versatile than Carey M. personally, who I find a bit weepy/perpetually po faced. Romola has a bit more fire in her. Of course she’s right: re Hollywood body fascism – she also is too tall for most Hollywood leading men, combined with her normal sized body it weighs against her – most taller actresses are total waifs, it’s why I think Minnie Driver also didn’t go far as far as she could have in terms of movies, too Amazonian against all these 5’8″ shrimpy male movie stars.
I love Romola, she’s such an amazing acrtess.
Regarding Carey, she’s an amazing acrtess, but she also has that special something that makes you watch her when she’s on screen.
Her working on British tv/film was a deliberate career choice after Dirty Dancing 2, which didn’t do well at the box office and was a rather unpleasant filming experience for her (specifically on the subject of her weight). I do love that movie, but I can see why she washed her hands of it and took a different career path away from mainstream Hollywood.
Wow I haven’t seen any of her work but I’m really impressed by her words.
Me too!
Me three!
Me four!!!!
Take a look at her Emma with Jonny Lee Miller. They are both adorable!
It is the only thing I’ve seen her in and I was impressed.
She’s good in The Hour with Ben Whishaw and Dominic West. The three of them had really great chemistry on that show. (Just don’t get me started on the ending of Season 2…)
Fifthed.
Watch her in “Vanity Fair” with Reese Witherspoon. She is GREAT! Oh, and in “Atonement”, too.
Haven’t seen her in anything other than the 2nd Dirty Dancing – and I LOVE it. Not as much as the first one but I love that movie.
And she sounds hardcore but super honest and speaks out in a factual way rather than sounding like she’s throwing a fit. I need to catch up on her movies and series 🙂
I love Dirty Dancng Havana Nights so so much. Much more than the first one. I was about 11 when it came out and had a huge crush on Diego Luna.
YES and don’t even get me started on the dance routines. So steamy. Love it.
Sigh.. I love dance movies…
ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People looked at me like I was crazy when I said I liked Dirty Dancing 2 more than 1, but Romola and Diego were so gorgeous together they totally sold the ridiculous story for me. (and they even dated for a bit, apparently – confirmed in a Teen Vogue interview they did for the movie)
I’m so glad someone else love dirty dancing 2 better than one! I love that movie and was obsessed with Diego Luna (seriously broke out the biggest smile when someone mentioned they dated). And don’t even get me started on the soundtrack!
She was also in Vanity Fair with American Citizen Reese Witherspoon, and in my opinion, should have been cast in the lead instead of Reese.
She absolutely would have been amazing as Becky Sharp. I’ve been a fan of Romola’s
since Vanity Fair- she’s a great actress. Her thoughtfulness about gender in filmmaking makes me like her even more! Right on.
LOVED her in VF – would have made a way better Becky Sharp. Love to hear about her – beautiful, talented, intelligent, unafraid to take a stand.
I’ve loved her for a long time. She was in I Capture the Castle years ago and just lit the movie up with her personality.
I love that movie and she really carried it, even with the rest of the cast being fantastic too.
ha- I just said the same thing a couple posts up about seeing her in I capture the castle-she was so young but amazing and I’ve always tried to see her projects when available since then.
I just love her name. Romola Garai… it seems to flow together so well.
Anyway, I love the fact that she’s drawing attention to the issues regarding nudity onscreen. I read about a lot of actresses saying that ‘nudity was necessary for the role/character’ but why is it that almost no male roles require it?
I can’t help it, the first thing that comes to mind when I read her name is Granola.
That’s fine, every time I see the name Coco Rocha I read cockroach at first.
I like her. I always think she’s actually the person Kate Winslet simply imagines herself to be.
She was great in The Hour. I’m still annoyed it was cancelled.
I still have to see the second series, loved the first one!
I miss The Hour so much, it was such a brilliant series, with what was essentially my dream cast. Capaldi, Chancellor, Whishaw, Garai, West . . .
I desperately need to know what happened to Freddie. It still boggles my mind that they cancelled The Hour and moved Don’t Tell the Bride to BBC1.
The Beeb certainly have their priorities in order.
They haven’t done much of a job of recommissioning of late, have they? Sent Ripper Street to Amazon then had to buy it back, etc etc etc.
I miss The Hour too! It was a great series.
In the Flesh has gone too, now that BBC3 is facing the axe.
I mostly really enjoy the Beeb’s Original Drama (excluding this silly Odyssey thing that’s currently on and that bloody awful Hunted series) but I’m still sad to see two of my favourite programmes get the chop 🙁
I can’t even BEGIN to describe my fury at the cancellation of In The Flesh. It wasn’t even costing that much money.
The Hour was fantastic! Canceling it was a mistake.
The Hour was a fantastic show and I was really disappointed when they cancelled it too. How could they do it? And I do want to know what happened with Freddie??? Do they get together in the end? Romola was so great in it and the whole cast was superb. What a shame it didn’t end properly.
I missed this Hour lovefest thread!
I did read that Freddie was going to be just fine, thank goodness.
I could not believe they cancelled it, but ran Merlin for 5 years. good grief. Not that Merlin was bad, per se, but it was not The Hour.
I think Merlin was perfect for that Saturday-early-evening family slot that they also put Doctor Who in, so apples and oranges there really. And they’ve been under huge financial pressure for the last five or six years, so any £1m-an-episode prime time drama is going to be under threat unless it performs in stellar fashion.
That said, I think their decision makers are poor. Some bizarre cancellations of high quality shows.
She was also great in The Crimson Petal and the White…..but I do wish The Hour had had one more season. I miss Bel!
I’ve read quiet a few interviews where actresses talked about nudity clauses and my impression is that only the best and the biggest can afford to say no and still get work, and even then – it’s not a forever thing. Scarlett Johansson used to have a nudity clause in her contracts, when she was an IT girl, then then her career stagnated and in 2013 she agreed to appear nude in Under the Skin. The movie was awful, it was not worth it. Samantha Morton once said that when an actress says no to taking her top off, she is automatically deemed difficult and blacklisted from many sets, so there’s not really that much of a choice. I don’t remember which one said that she signed a contract to do a movie with no nudity, then when the shoot was almost complete – she was told they added an extended sex-scene and her character was supposed to be naked. Contractually, she had a choice to say no, but then what? No one would ever hire an actress who “ruined” the entire shoot. Actresses are treated as totally replaceable – the Sony hacks proved it to be true and their freedom of choice is often a wishful thinking.
I was also thinking along these lines, although you know a lot more about it. Even if you do have the “option” contractually, I imagine the actress who has been waiting tables for two years like she said just really can’t say no without fear of killing her career.
Under the Skin was incredible. Plus she got great reviews, so for her I’m sure it was worth it.
“then her career stagnated and in 2013 she agreed to appear nude in Under The Skin”
I’d believe that if it wasn’t for the fact that she was the main female lead of that little movie called The Avengers just the year before, with the promise of more films in that franchise to come making her one of the most bankable actresses in Hollywood and not just a starlet.
“Stagnated”, indeed.
She used to be an awards nominated, critically praised, it girl, who worked with best directors and had multiple anticipated movies coming each year – like Jennifer Lawrence. Now she’s mainly a part of the ensemble cast in a popcorn movie – I like the Avengers, but it’s not a dream role of a serious actor – it’s good fun for good money. Black Widow doesn’t even have her own film and they didn’t bother to make her merchandise, because Marvel is clear about their poor treatment of female characters. I didn’t say her career completely stopped, but since it doesn’t evolve, get better with each year – it’s the definition of stagnation. She still makes money and works, but she didn’t have a big, fan-favorite, critically acclaimed serious movie in years. Under the Skin got praised by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but most people hated it, so I don’t count it. To me it was a movie version of a hipster – trying hard to be artistic and deep, instead of actually being artistic and deep. And the nudity was unnecessary.
But I don’t really understand the attacks on my post. I was actually defending these actresses if you haven’t noticed? If I was being a hater – it was against the studio execs. I don’t blame the actors whose careers slow down – and for actresses it often happens because of the anti-nudity clause we’re talking about.
@NBM – I didn’t mean to make you feel attacked, that wasn’t my intention – just questioning the truth behind your statement.
Avengers may be a popcorn movie, but she plays a significant role within the franchise and has earned even more name recognition and bargaining power thanks to it. Last year alone, she was able to take Lucy to the top of the box office and that movie was sold mainly if not solely on her name – if anything, this is an elevation in status because she is the lead of the movie where previously she was playing love interests and little else. And she didn’t even do much promo for the movie since she was pregnant at the time.
She started off as a critically acclaimed young actress when she was even younger than JLaw, but she was never an Oscar baiter like Portman, JLaw etc. – her image was that of ‘sexy bombshell’ for years, which is not exactly compatible with ‘serious actress’ awards campaigns. And as for working with Oscar nominated directors, she did two successful movies with Woody Allen but pretty much all her other films after Lost In Translation/Girl with a Pearl Earring were flops and she was pretty much decoration in a lot of them – she was largely keeping her profile high with endorsements and her image in those years, despite a successful turn on the stage (which is not Hollywood).
It wasn’t till she was in the Avengers that Johansson actually started booking the interesting roles again and drawing critical acclaim – you may not like Under The Skin or Her, but a lot of critics praised her work in both movies (to the point where people even asked if she could be nominated for an Oscar for voice work alone, in Her). Your implication was that she took her clothes off for UtS because her career was in the decline, but I’m afraid you’re wrong about that. I get that you mean it as a criticism of the system, but in this case the facts just don’t fit.
She was a fantastic “Emma”.
Finally someone elese who saw the same show, yes, I love her in Emma!
Loved her in Emma… <3
She was perfect as emma, and she got jonnie lee miller to boot.
Romola Garai is waaaaayyy more talented than Carrie Mulligan. She’s particularly fantastic in Atonement, The Hour, and I Capture the Castle. She is both physically larger and more outspoken than Carrie Mulligan, Kiera Knightly, Natalie Dormer, etc. and I think that, more than “weird” career choices, has kept her from their level of visibility….
Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to this industry, can we not pit these two against each other? They are both talented, articulate, intelligent women who happen to be slightly less than conventional looking. (A good thing in my book since it is getting to a place most actresses seem to be required to have the same face). I would love for Romola to have even more of a break through, I love her, but why does it have to be at the expense of another actress?
Agree completely with you, Liz.
Absoluely.
With all due respect Liz, the roles that Carrie Mulligan got very well could have gone to Romola. They ARE pitted against each other (as are all other actresses/actors who vie for roles). I’m not saying that Carrie Mulligan isn’t beautiful or talented or intelligent, quite the contrary. I’m simply saying that Romola – role for role- is a more talented actress.
I don’t think comparing two people (male or female) equates to pitting them against each other.
It’s just like saying, “Carl Sagan does this while Neil deGrasse Tyson does this.”
It’s just pointing out two different ppl with similar(ish) fields of interest and different approaches.
I love both actresses, but can concede at the same time that because romola does not conform to the standards of super teeny tiny because she has a naturally more curvy build, she probably has a harder time being cast.
@Jessie , agreed. I am not a fan of Mulligan’s acting.
“I felt throughout my twenties that if I were a 40-year-old man, people wouldn’t mind so much when I didn’t agree with them.”
That last statement is what I identify with the most. I have to work frequently with men and women who are 10-15 years older than me and you have to have this singular discipline in your headspace in order to be taken seriously…you have to be calculating about how you appear and sound so that you are not stepping on toes, bruising egos while fulfilling your responsibility. Everything from dress, to speech, how you gesticulate, the rigidity with which you hold yourself is such a choreographed thing that at the end of the day you are so physically and emotionally exhausted. The greatest challenge for me is the (usually) older women who assume the role of the chauvinist man’s champion.
To any who don’t know her work, you simply must watch The Hour.
It is a fabulous series, only 2 seasons, for some reason BBC cancelled it after season 2 🙁
It’s a star filled cast, excellent writing, it’s wonderful.
That’s been on my list to watch for ages I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks!
you have to, it’s one of the best series I’ve ever watched. Ben Whishaw, Andrew Scott, Dominic West, Peter Capaldi, Tom Burke, it just goes on and on with amazing actors.
here! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1778108/
YAAASSS QUEEN
If a woman was dating a man who expected her to constantly be on a diet, disrobe on command, and punished her for saying no, we would call that an abusive relationship. But in Hollywood that is par for the course.
Romola Garai is speaking truth to power, amen.
This is what director Neil Marshall who worked on the episode Blackwater(Games of Thrones) said what the HBO bosses told him regarding nudity. Absolutely disgusting.
————————————-
It was pretty surreal. I’d not done anything like that in my films
before. But the weirdest part was when you have one of the exec
producers leaning over your shoulder, going, “You can go full frontal,
you know. This is television, you can do whatever you want! And do it! I
urge you to do it.” So I was like, “Okay, well, if you— you’re the
boss.”
(…) This particular exec took me to one side and said, “Look, I
represent the pervert side of the audience, okay? Everybody else is the
serious drama side—I represent the perv side of the audience, and I’m
saying I want full frontal nudity in this scene.” So you go ahead and do
it.
ugh. “pervert side of the audience”… glad they’re encouraging that just for the sake of higher views.
Wow. This makes me feel bad for watching the show.
That exec is just vile. Disgusting. Dormer needs to read this.
…..wtf @that exec. Gross, gross, just GROSS all around.
I love her and think she’s a fabulous actress. Both she and Carey are fairly connected, but Carey is more so (although she tries to play it down) and I do think that may have made a difference..we love our English actresses to be oh so “posh” most of the time (Kate Winslet being an exception). Plus, the fact that Romola is outspoken and not a size 6 probably played a part in her not being as embraced by Hollywood. I loved her in Emma and The Hour.
She has been in a lot of British period pieces and is just great. I look for films (period pieces in particular) with her because I know that I’m going to see something put together very well. Never been disappointed yet. Good for her!!!!
“As long as films are being made by five guys who know that ‘if she gets her knockers out’ this film will make $10 million more, then it’s not going to change.””
Its an audience problem. Women who want to make money dont think differently. most casting agents are women, i remember a very big female agent saying that Tina Fey isnt pretty enough to be on SNL.
As long as nudity, male or female, sells it will be used and lets not kid ourselves, most of Hollywood is based on sex selle, Herny Cavill or Zac Efron wouldnt be actors if it was based on skill. Would One Direction sell more than four albums if they were ugly?
Most casting agents don’t really make the big choices. They get a list from their usually male boss(es) and then select accordingly so said bothes can chose.
Is male success based on looks/sex appeal as well sometimes? Sure, but that doesn’t mean that the problem isn’t much bigger for women.
Fun fact, TIna Fey was a writer on SNL before she was a cast member and she had to lose 40 lbs before they put her on air.
While I agree with everything she says in terms of general issues, her striking beauty is a big part of her career, so it cuts both ways. I’ve watched her in many things and really I find her very bland as an actress. She has basically three expressions: blank/sleepy, blank/sleepy with a smile, and upset. She’s wonderful to look at, but I really think her low energy and range weaken even the kind of period TV/films I usually love, like The Hour or Glorious 39. In her case, her looks have allowed her to keep working prominently despite her significant limitations.
I really think Romola Garai is the most under-rated actress of our age. She has been mesmerising in everything I have seen her in and I’m always a little staggered that she isn’t more well known. In the few interviews I have read of her she comes across as intelligent and thoughtful and she has expressed some well considered views on the absurdity and sexism of her industry. Lord knows she’s beautiful enough for Hollywood to pay attention to her, but it’s her acting that has stayed with me. I cannot think of another actor who’s performances have captivated me as much. She even made me love the slightly irritating character of Emma.
I may have actually “squeed” like a fangirl when I saw her name on your site today. She is far and away one of my favorites and she is the ONLY Emma I can watch (she makes Gwyneth’s Emma seem insipid and mean by comparison) and she was wonderful in The Hour and I am so excited to see her in Sufragette. I think her words on Hollywood, diet, and feminism might be embraced a little more this time round as the material she’s promoting sort of demands it. She and Carey and Meryl will have a lot of these types of soundbites because they will get asked a lot of feminism questions regarding the movie. Can’t wait for the movie either.
Romola Garai, you are officially my bada*** feminist. Her word are articulate, intelligent and most of all fearless. And by the way, she is a fabulous actress, a better actress than JLAW. I think she will be fine. Just keep doing your thing, girl. The strong females everywhere is thankful for you. As I am myself.
I don’t think a feminist Romola Garai would appreciate you pitting her against another woman just to lift her up…
She’s a fabulous actress, and stands on her own feet. No need to start bashing other actresses to make her look better.
I agree with you, but can you say the same to jlaws fans? Both women are fully deserving of a good career. They’ve given some brilliant performances. But we tend to do this a lot with young actresses and never actors don’t we? We just don’t even think about other actors when talking about one really.
I will say that romola is incredibly articulate and offers interesting insight on the topics she speaks about.
I am not putting any female against any female. That is my opinion about acting wise that she is a more fabulous actress, ia think JLaw is a good actress but with a few more years she will gain respect. But this has nothing to do with acting professional. I Am just saying, that these “perverts” called male studio executives who would want to have a young girl in their movies to think they can bone them. This is sexist and humiliating. Thank goodness someone said someting.
The problem kiki is that it invariably happens to actresses more than actors. Every other young actress gets torn down to pieces for minor and stupid things. It ends up being that people only really want to see one and leave room for one. When in reality there are a great number of talents. The men don’t get this nearly as much. I’ve made this point before, but notice how people talk about Jlaw. She’s the most talented of her generation. She’s the IT girl. No one can act the way she can, blah blah blah blah blah. That’s simply not true. It diminishes the work of other actresses and we NEVER hear crap like that about the guys. It suggests that women have to be good at everything and those her age simply aren’t working hard enough or are talented enough. Again, that’s just not true. Note to stans I’m not refuting that Jlaw is a good actress (and yes I do think you’re just as bad as all other fans).
Fassbender has weak spots but no one doubts he’s a talented, capable actor. Same with Cumberbatch, hiddleston (ugh, hate that guy), Redmayne, oldman, etc, etc, etc. They’re talented actors giving good performances, but no one goes on about how one deserved something over the other. They are allowed to stand on their own without comparison more than actresses are. That’s absolutley what infurates me about all of this. The men are allowed to bring something unique to the table and be themselves, the women not so much. It adds onto that idea that women have to work 10x as hard in order to be recognized at all compared to the guys.
Well Korea, this is why, we aa women have to stand take on challenges against societies of traditional settings and misogyny. Instead of comparing each other with capable talents, women should enhanced the fundamental of living the dream of respect, pride and dignity as a female and women. I get what you are saying, but I hope you understand what I have to say. I always want to be a singer/actress, but living in a small island in the Caribbean for years and never leaving this country and hoping one day I will go, I have seen all these glamorous actress paraded like dolls on display on a toy shop, and they host of some media TV show has the gall to ask them and I quote ” who dress are you wearing”, not anyone ask them are you nervous or excited, or even how do you feel about this award event. At this point, it made me rethink about this profession. Although the I love film and music, I may never be a singer/actress but I can say this I am not giving up on something that I love. So then I read an article about female directors and so little of them and why are so little. I was always interested in the behind the scenes in film, so I therefore want to be a film director. So basically I am saying is, women are going to pitted to each other and it will take women to stand together to say enough is enough.
Well Korea, this is why, we aa women have to stand take on challenges against societies of traditional settings and misogyny. Instead of comparing each other with capable talents, women should enhanced the fundamental of living the dream of respect, pride and dignity as a female and women. I get what you are saying, but I hope you understand what I have to say., I have seen all these glamorous actress paraded like dolls on display on a toy shop, and they host of some media TV show has the gall to ask them and I quote ” who dress are you wearing”, not anyone ask them are you nervous or excited, or even how do you feel about this award event. At this point, it made me rethink about this profession. Although the I love film and music, I may never be a singer/actress but I can say this I am not giving up on something that I love. So then I read an article about female directors and so little of them and why are so little. I was always interested in the behind the scenes in film, so I therefore want to be a film director. So basically I am saying is, women are going to pitted to each other and it will take women to stand together to say enough is enough.
She seems so cool. I’m super looking forward to seeing the movie!
Romola Garai! I’m so thankful SOMEBODY is paying attention to her like I do. She’s all over NETFLIX. I watch whatever she’s in, especially the period pieces, because she’s always the “ahead of her time” woman.
Me too! “Daniel Deronda” is my favorite, I think.
My favorite Emma! And she made the movie “Angel” with Fassbender – also good period piece. She is always brilliant. She wrote a piece about how she was sorry for the Maxim-sexiness early in her career but she wants to change the message.
I love her and Carey both, and frankly she’s not my usual type at all but Romola’s a standout.
She’s been great in everything I’ve seen her in, even Dirty Dancing 2 where her American accent was slipping, but she’s consciously chosen to work on her side of the pond after that – apparently the DD2 producers tried to make her lose weight and made her life miserable when she wouldn’t (and I know some of you have seen that movie and know exactly what she looked like there). After that, she was done with trying to break into Hollywood and has since disowned DD2 for the unpleasantness of the experience (which is a shame, because I LOVE that cheesy movie but I get why she’d feel differently about it).
I love Romola Garai! One of my favorite films she’s done is “Daniel Deronda” and I watch it over and over. I think she’s a really good actress and I love her attitude.
SO excited to see this movie!
I remember watching I Capture the Castle. I watched it for Rose Byrne but it was all about Romola for me. She was breath-taking. She actually made me cry. I also loved her in Emma. She is Emma! She’s great in everything I’ve seen her in.
The trailer for Suffragette made my cry. I can’t WAIT to see it!
I like what this girl has to say.