Female Actors Gaining Ground in Hollywood

“I just want to be cast for me,” said Chloe Wang at San Diego Comic-Con’s Women Who Kick Ass panel, an annual discussion of female actors in Hollywood about the challenges and triumphs of being a female in the film business.

You probably know Wang’s face but don’t recognize her name; that’s because she’s better known as Chloe Bennet, star of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. She changed her name because, according to her, she didn’t look Chinese enough to be cast in “Asian” roles and her name prevented her for being called to “White” roles.

Bennet felt guilty about changing her name because said said that in her tradition, the father’s name is very important. While Bennet is actually her father’s name, she said the choice is one she’ll have to live with but added “but I knew I could make a difference,” suggesting that if she made this sacrifice she would use her voice to speak out and help others avoid this sacrifice in the future.

Amandlah Shenberg, star of The Hate U Give (perhaps more familiar to audiences as Rue from The Hunger Games series) added that she feels like sometimes roles written for diverse actors are less about the actor’s diversity and more about trying to fill a quota for diverse actors.

While the phenomenon of having to strip one’s identity away to fit a more homogeneous version to fit a casting director’s ideal is not unique to diverse female actors, it perhaps stings a bit more because of the already existent challenges they face: fewer heroic or lead roles, and receiving less pay than their male costars, just to name a few.

Another fear, recounted by Camila Mendes (Veronica on Riverdale), is the fear of speaking out and the effect it might have on a career; speaking out “could be held against you.” One of the things that inspired her to speak out, however, was reviewing the stats of her instagram followers and seeing how many were young girls. She sees that she’s a role model and realized how important it is to speak out against things that are wrong.

Chloe Bennet added forthrightly, “there’s a point when it becomes hard to ignore.”

Recently though, ground has been gained for female actors in Hollywood, (though its incremental, and by no means enough, change is beginning) with female actors leading superhero movies such as Captain Marvel and Black Widow, and a female actor being cast as Doctor Who.

Jodie Whittaker, cast as the Thirteenth Doctor, recognizes what her casting represents. “I’m proud of the moment,” she said, but added “I just want the moment to go.”

She recognizes that importance of being cast in a role that has been traditionally played by men, but wonders, somewhat hopefully, if female actors will continue to be having these conversations in five years’ time.

Her casting in what has traditionally been a male role was not universally beloved. Her response was simple and to the point: “The Doctor isn’t a man. The Doctor is an alien…and I’m just as qualified as any other actor to play an alien!”

“Timelord is a gender-neutral term.”

As the world evolves, so too does Hollywood…though perhaps more slowly than everywhere else. With their awareness and their courage, this generation of strong female actors is making the path to success far less treacherous for those that follow, than it was for those that preceded them.

Pictures courtesy of, and copyright by, Entertainment Weekly. Used with permission.