3 days ago
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Game of Thrones star Indira Varma says the opportunities for older female actors are getting 'smaller and smaller'.
The actress, 51, who has also starred in TV series such as Luther and Obi-Wan Kenobi, said only a 'few people' get these roles.
She said there needed to be 'more stories' told about older women, but said as she has gets older she feels less pressure to 'look extraordinary'.
Varma, who also appeared in the seventh Mission: Impossible film, added that she would 'love' to have the same opportunities on screen that she gets in her stage work.
She said she wanted to have roles with an 'emotional journey' and not just 'expositional shoe leather'.
Ms Varma, an Olivier award-winning actress is about to star alongside Hollywood star Rami Malek, in a new London production of Oedipus at the Old Vic Theatre.
Game of Thrones star Indira Varma says the opportunities for older female actors are getting 'smaller and smaller'
The actress, 51, who has also starred in TV series such as Luther and Obi-Wan Kenobi, said only a 'few people' get these roles (pictured in Game Of Thrones)
In an interview with The Sunday Times's Culture magazine she said: 'The opportunities for women over a certain age are getting smaller and smaller.
'Only a few people get them. [In the same] way it has been for people of colour, we want more stories to be told about older women.'
She also talked about the way female actors are always under scrutiny over the way they look.
The actress said: 'We're still obsessed with whether or not someone's attractive.
'I can't believe I'm saying this but it's great getting older because I couldn't give two s***s... I'm healthy, I'm strong and the older I get the less I feel pressure on me as a woman to look extraordinary.'
She also admitted she would like to be offered different types of roles in her film and TV work.
Ms Varma told the magazine: 'I'd love opportunities on screen that I get on stage.
'Something that has an emotional journey in it, that has an inner and an outer life, not just expositional shoe leather. I find that boring.'
Her appearance in a 2019 production of Noel Coward play Present Laughter earned her an Olivier award for best actress in a supporting role.
She said there needed to be 'more stories' told about older women, but said as she has gets older she feels less pressure to 'look extraordinary'
She also admitted she would like to be offered different types of roles in her film and TV work
Last year she starred as Lady Macbeth alongside Ralph Fiennes in a UK production of the play.
Her first major film role was in the 1996 move Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love.
For decades, celebrities have called out the ageism that has forced Hollywood's leading ladies into the shadows after they turn 40.
A-listers like Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Helen Mirren, and Jamie Lee Curtis have repeatedly and publicly called on the entertainment industry to recognise that talent doesn't have a 'sell-by' date and star power transcends youthfulness.
Despite their efforts though, it's largely been the case that leading lady roles go to younger women, while those in their forties are demoted to frumpy supporting parts that turn into frivolous cameos.
However, the most recent Golden Globe Awards suggest the tide is starting to turn -with middle-aged thespians being rewarded for their bold, stigma-defying, and nuanced performances in some of the year's biggest hits.
The recently concluded ceremony saw Hollywood's older leading ladies reclaim the spotlight, with seven of the coveted Best Actress awards going to women over the age of 40.
This list notably included Demi Moore who, at the age of 62, scooped her first ever acting prize after years of being dismissed as a 'popcorn actress'.
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