Cousins! Nia Long and fellow actress Drew Berrymore linked up recently as they dished out never publicly disclosed details surrounding the early 2000s film ‘Charlie’s Angeles’
In a recent interview Nia recalled auditioning for the role of Alex Munday within the film that ultimately went to Lucy Liu. She says that after the auditioning process she was rejected along with the explanation of her looking, “too sophisticated and too old” for the role in standing next to Barrymore. Drew starred as Dylan Sanders in both the 2000 action fueled comedy film, as well as the 2003 sequel.
Nia had a chance to dive deeper into the feedback she received in appearing on the ‘Drew Barrymore’ show last week. Drew says that despite her being a producer in the film she was unaware of the reason Nia was rejected.
“So, apparently a producer called your agent and said something to the effect of, ‘Eyebrows and age,’ what was it?”
Nia responded, “So here’s what happened. I go and I audition and first of all, I was so excited to meet you… and it went really well,” she began. “So, I go and I audition, then you go home and you wait and you hope to get the response which is, ‘You’re going to get the job.’ I didn’t get the job. It’s okay, it happens.”
“But the feedback was, ‘My eyebrows were too sophisticated and I looked too old next to Drew,” Nia added. “And that was the feedback and I was like, ‘What?’ It just was an odd way of saying you didn’t get the job.”
Nia went on to reflect in saying that at this point in her life as well as her career she believes there was a bigger issue at hand within Hollywood.
“I think this is just a result of the fear of really putting a Black woman into a film that never cast anyone Black.”
She continued, “It was a first time for them. There was this initiative to cast more Black women, have more Black women on set, but Hollywood wasn’t quite doing it because I remember during that time I actually auditioned for so many roles that weren’t written Black to the point where I was exhausted. It was almost like, bring the Black girls in, bring the Black actors in, so we can say that we did it, but we’re not going to necessarily pull the trigger.”
“So, what I will say now is things have changed a little. I thank god for producers like you because I know you’re aware and you’re sensitive to it because you’re having the conversation.”
Drew chimed in by admitting that she felt, “almost felt nervous and bad” after her and l and Cameron Diaz were casted. “We were like, ‘Oh god that doesn’t feel right for us,'” she recalled. “And the original ‘Charlie’s Angels’ were all white women.”
Nia explained that the actresses of the late 70s ‘Charlie’s Angels’ TV series , all “looked different,” Drew responded that “there was no diversity there.”
Let’s call that out,” Drew declared, explaining that both she and her producing partner “felt the exact opposite” back in 1999 “when those conversations were not being had and it was really her and I who championed the fact that like, ‘Okay we love our Angels so far but now what?'”
Drew doubled down, “When we even went in to present ourselves as producers for the film, all the pitches for the combination of the trio all had diversity in it, and that was just something that felt right in our guts at the time.”
“It’s bewildering to me that someone would say those things,” she added. “First of all, Nan and I would never talk about eyebrows. That’s not what women would do.”
Now responded in agreement by saying she “101% positive that it came from a studio exec that has no concept in understanding the importance of diversity, let alone what you stand for because you’ve been in this game Drew for a very long time. And I know your heart and I see your show and I know who you are so this was never anything I took personal at all.”
Drew explained that she was hurt by the feedback received from her audition when she learned about the ordeal.
“Nan and I would never speak like that and as far as age that’s the stupidest thing because you’re actually the same exact number, and age as Lucy Liu so how is that possible?” Drew said to Nia. “And I grew up in an industry where I was like, ‘I will not fall prey to aging and all that B.S.,’ like that will never be my thing I’ve watched too many people suckle off the fountain of youth and think they were less worthy if they looked older.”
Drew added, “So age, and weight, and body, I was like, ‘This is a toxic part of this industry.’ There are many wonderful things about it, but this part, I will not play with and I will not succumb to. So there’s no way the age thing was an issue.”
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