Actress Phoebe Dynevor, whose biggest claim to fame is Daphne Bridgerton in Netflix’s Bridgerton series, shared her complaints there are not enough acting jobs for young female actresses like her compared to her male colleagues.
Fair Play, behind the scenes L to R: Alden Ehrenreich as Luke, Phoebe Dynevor as Emily Brandon Bassir as Dax. Cr. Sergej Radovic / Courtesy of Netflix
Dynevor made the comments in an interview with the United Kingdom’s The Standard while promoting her most recent film Fair Play.
She told the outlet, “I have read some great scripts recently. And yeah, probably shouldn’t be saying this, but there is still, like, not that many parts going. There is such a space for male actors… there are so many of them. And they’re all great. They’re all very talented young men, and they do not stop working, and good for them.”
However, she added, “But you know, when I think about the girls my age… there’s way more room for them and there is still not enough room for us. It’s a really good time for older women which is amazing and there’s a lot for these young men, but not a lot for the actresses that I know in my age bracket.”
In order to solve this problem, Dynevor says she will become a producer, “I eventually want to produce. I would like to create the material that I feel is missing. I don’t know when that will be, but it’s a dream of mine.”
Phoebe Dynevor via Today YouTube
Pop culture analyst Mary Morgan reacted to Dynevor’s comments saying, “As we know they’re prioritizing the big roles to older women in order to combat ageism. And this is the main point, when it comes to inclusivity it’s always a zero sum game. When you give more roles and more jobs to underrepresented groups you’re taking it away from another person. That’s how that works. Not everyone can win.”
She would later mock the state of Hollywood casting, “I think that Phoebe Dynevor needs to come out as bisexual or non-binary, shave her head, get some face piercings and some tattoos, gain a little bit of weight and then Hollywood will be just breaking down her door, they will be calling her, her agent will be too busy.”
While Dynevor’s comments might be easy to dismiss out of hand, the latest trailer for Borderlands highlights her criticism as it sees 54-year-old Cate Blanchett playing Lilith, a character that is depicted in the games between the ages of 30 and 40 years old.
Not only does the film feature Blanchett as Lilith, but it also stars 65 year-old Jamie Lee Curtis as Patricia Tannis, who is depicted as a woman in her 30s.
Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Kevin Hart as Roland, Florian Munteanu as Krieg and Jamie Lee Curtis as Tannis in Borderlands. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate
READ: Rumor: Marvel’s Initial Idea For X-Men Is To “Focus More On The Female Members Of The Team”
However, Dynevor’s claim about female actors her age are having a harder time than male actors her age just does not add up given many production companies actively engage in gender swapping characters and are actively making stories centered on female characters.
One need only look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see a plethora of examples including Taskmaster, Ghost, Makkari, Sprite, and Ajak. The studio is also creating shows and films focused on its female characters rather than more popular male characters. Examples include Echo, Ms. Marvel, and The Marvels. Meanwhile characters like Nova and Beta Ray Bill are still sitting on a shelf gaining dust.
(L-R): Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek), Sersi (Gemma Chan), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Druig (Barry Keoghan) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
What do you make of Dynevor’s comments?
