Amy Adams is easily one of the hardest working, yet somewhat underappreciated actresses, in Hollywood right now. She’s been nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes, Baftas and more, graced the screen with her impressive talent and is now taking to the small screen in the HBO miniseries adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel Sharp Objects.
While promoting the upcoming miniseries, Adams sat down with the author and creator of the series, Marti Noxon, for a Hollywood Reporter cover story where she talked about everything from Sharp Objects to complicated roles for women to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements—and what she had to say was honestly heartbreaking. When discussing how all women have had a moment in their life where they’ve questioned what signal they had given someone to invite an uncomfortable experience, she said that the constant confusion over unwanted advances from men had dictated what sort of roles she took on.
“I think most women have experienced [sexual harassment], even if it’s just feeling unsafe rejecting somebody. And apologizing, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, I must have been sending you the wrong signal,’ when, really, it’s like, ‘No, I think I said I don’t want to go out with you, I don’t know how that’s the wrong signal. I think we should just be friends and I’m not sure why you’re at my doorstep.’ It’s that unsafe feeling,” Adams said.
“There’s a reason I started playing nuns and virgins. I was like, ‘I’m not putting up with that anymore.’”
The conversation between the three continued to discuss Flynn’s next novel, which follows the tone of the last year in America in terms of sexism and sexual harassment, how Noxon stood up for a female writer on Mad Men and how Adams is focusing on making a better future for the next generation of actresses.
It’s unfortunate that an actress of her caliber was relegated to taking specific types of roles in order to ward off advances entirely from men who simply could not take the hint. Here’s to hoping that the future Adams is working towards means no woman will again have to look at a role and think, “Am I taking this because it’s good or because it’ll help ward off advances?”
Sharp Objects premieres on HBO on July 8.