Kaya Scodelario: Hollywood sexism casts her with men ‘twice her age’
Kaya Scodelario stars in the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” film, “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. Image: Facebook/Pirates of the Caribbean
British actress Kaya Scodelario is speaking up on the gender inequality in Hollywood, and is particularly bothered by gender double standards on age in the showbiz industry.
The Skins star told The Guardian, “It’s like there’s this expiry date for us and it’s such bullsh*t, because my mind isn’t going to change. If anything, I will grow and I will learn and I will be better.”
She added, “But, yeah, nine out of 10 times, if I read a script, it will be me being with a guy that is twice my age, which is really f**king weird.”
The 25-year-old plays the only female character in the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” installment. In a blog post, screenwriter Terry Rossio revealed that the first version of the movie was scrapped because Johnny Depp, who plays the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, thought it would be “redundant” to have a female villain again.
Kaya Scodelario and Johnny Depp on set in “Pirates”. Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@kayascods
Scodelario also shared, “I was concerned that they would want me to play a romantic part against someone in their 50s and that would be heartbreaking,” she continued. “So I was extremely relieved that Brenton [Thwaites] is only a year older than me.”
Thwaites plays the son of character Will Turner, popularized by Orlando Bloom.
The Londoner who also stars in “The Maze Runner” series is willing to do Hollywood films to fund her own productions, and aims to increase gender representation of women.
“Doing a movie like [Pirates] means I can finance my own independent movies and, eventually, that’s what I want to do,” the actress said. “I want to produce and I want to work with female crews.” Niña V. Guno/JB
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