Reese Witherspoonis opening up about a demeaning audition process she was subjected to as an up-and-coming actress.
In her new cover story forThe Hollywood Reporter, theOscar winner, 43, told the magazine that landing one of her most career-defining roles, Elle Woods in 2001’sLegally Blonde, was not an enjoyable experience.
“They thought I was a shrew,” Witherspoon said, referencing the casting directors who couldn’t separate the actress from one of her recent characters at the time, the self-assured overachieverTracy Flick fromElection— a far cry from the bubbly, cheery Woods.
After a string of lost parts, her manager feared Witherspoon would be typecast, and suggested the star change the way she dresses for her auditions.
“My manager finally called and said: ‘You’ve got to go meet with the studio head because he will not approve you. He thinks you really are your character fromElectionand that you’re repellent,’ ” she said. “And then I was told to dress ‘sexy.’ “
Reese Witherspoon.
The advice, she said, didn’t seem too outlandish at the time; however, looking back, Witherspoon can see how off-base it was.
“I remember a room full of men who were asking me questions about being a coed and being in a sorority, even though I had dropped out of college four years earlier and I have never been inside a sorority house,” she said.
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Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde.Tracy Bennett/MGM/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Reese Witherspoon,The Hollywood Reporter.
Legally Blondewas so successful, it not only launched a hit sequel in 2003 (as well as athird installmentnow reportedly in the works), but it catapulted Witherspoon to movie star status.
Now a sought-after producer with hits likeBig Little Lies,Gone GirlandWildunder her production company’s belt, themom-of-threehas her eye set on reconfiguring the Hollywood landscape.
“It’s funny to think of all the things we were told to do back then because now you’re thinking, ‘Oh God, if somebody told my daughter to do that, she’d be like, I really hope you’re joking,'” she said of the differences between now and 20 years ago.
She added: “I don’t want to just admire problems, and I certainly don’t want to leave this business the same way that I found it.”
source: people.com
