Thandie Newton: I was abused on the casting couch

soundoff (One Response)

1. Stephen Jones
   

   The Telegraph UK 16 Oct 2011
   Thandie Newton is not the sort of actress you need to coax, flatter or cajole for revelations of any sort. 'Honestly, I could tell a story,' she says, seconds after sitting down, 'that would make your hair stand on end. Literally. Honestly, it beggars belief. But I'd better not because people will have a reaction to it.'

   Moments later she is telling me everything – the director, 'the typical Hollywood grosser', who screen-tested her when she was just starting out, and how, in the interests of the role, he told her to lie back, one leg over the chair, and touch herself, and then years later she finds out he would show the tape, 'literally shooting up my skirt', to people at night. 'I did it because it was sort of a sexy role. I was totally naive,' she says, wincing.

   16 Months ago ....

   But notice the new slant:
   From:
   'I did it because it was sort of a sexy role. I was totally naive,' she says, wincing

   Changes to:
   "I'm 18 years old, you know, and I'm thinking this is, obviously normal. I thought I was in a protected environment, that there were boundaries."

   So Thandie .... which was it? And what will it be next time?

   February 19, 2013 at 6:43 pm | Reply