Thandiwe Newton Turned Down a Role in ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Because of 1 Scene
Thandiwe Newton was on the road to being a big star in the ’90s and early 2000s. The actor appeared in blockbuster movies like Mission: Impossible and Interview with The Vampire. Newton’s star power saw her receive offers for several high-budget productions. But the actor turned down a role in Charlie’s Angels because of one scene.
Thandiwe Newton turned down a role because of sexism
Newton is one of the most vocal A-listers today. She has been open about her experience with sexual harassment and has braved the hate and negative comments toward her. In an interview with Vulture, Newton recounted her experience with abuse as a teen on the set of Flirting.
The experience resulted in her refusal to do one high-profile movie. The star revealed she’d been offered a part in Charlie’s Angels alongside Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz. But Newton said that the movie’s director Joseph McGinty Nichol made a sexist remark that made her think twice about the film.
According to Newton, the director’s vision for the film’s opening scene would feature her backside. She said he told her, “I can’t wait for this. The first shot is going to be — you’re going to think its yellow lines down a road, and you pull back, and you realize it’s the stitching because the denim is so tight on your ass it’s going to look like tarmac.”
Newton said that the part, which ultimately went to Lucy Liu, would have done wonders for her career. But she didn’t want to put herself in a position whereby she’d feel sexualized. The star recalled even being asked to do a photoshoot together with Barrymore and Diaz but backing out.
“Did I feel scared? That’s not true. Look no one was ever going to sexually abuse me again. But I didn’t want to be put in a position where I was objectified. That just didn’t feel good,” Newton said.
Thandiwe Newton also faced racism for Charlie’s Angels’
Not only did Newton have to listen to a male director talk about her behind with such bizarre enthusiasm, but she also faced racial discrimination from a white female exec. In the Vulture interview, Newton recalled meeting with then Columbia Pictures head Amy Pascal for a meeting. There, Pascal uttered racist remarks.
Newton said Pascal told her that her soon-to-be Charlie’s Angels character needed to be believable if Newton was going to play it. Pascal told Newton that her character had gone to university and it wouldn’t be realistic if a person like her [a Black woman] were to play it. Newton said she informed Pascal that she had attended the University of Cambridge. But the studio head dismissed the star telling her she was different.
According to Newton, Pascal’s solution to the issue would be to have Newton play into the stereotypes by having a scene where Newton’s character would be “in a bar and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty.” All these experiences led to Newton turning down the potentially life-changing role.
Thandiwe Newton is a well-established star today
All things considered, Newton has done well for herself, despite starring in Charlie’s Angels. After Flirting, she appeared in Pirate Prince and began her rise to fame with the Tom Cruise-Brad Pitt film Interview with The Vampire, playing Yvette.
Newton made her TV debut in the medical drama ER. She played the recurring character of Makemba Likasu from 2003 until 2009. She has since appeared in For Colored Girls, Line of Duty, and Good Deeds. To many, Newton is best known for her portrayal of Maeve Millay in Westworld, for which she has received several nominations, awards, and critical acclaim.
