As part of The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen issue, the magazine spoke with Fantastic Beasts actor Ezra Miller about his rise to fame in Hollywood and how he identifies as queer — but most importantly, Miller shared his own #MeToo story, which he had never shared before.
When Miller was a teen, he moved with his book publisher father and dance instructor mother to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he began to take the train to Manhattan for auditions. Miller was cast in the late theater director Elizabeth Swados’ Broadway show Runaways. During its run, the actor was given a business card by a “creepy reptile manager, who shall remain unnamed,” who eventually directed him to director Antonio Campos, and he landed the lead role in the film Afterschool. He eventually landed his role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which propelled him to becoming one of the most sought-out actors by studios.
In talking about his experiences in Hollywood, Miller shared his own #MeToo moment, a personal experience that he hadn’t shared before.
“They gave me wine and I was underaged,” the actor shared, recalling the encounter with an unnamed director and producer. “They were like, ‘Hey, want to be in our movie about gay revolution?’ And I was like, ‘No, you guys are monsters.’”
“It’s a great f—in’ age of being like, ‘You know what? That sh‒t’s unacceptable,’ And it’s amazing for a lot of us to watch. ‘Cause, like, we all knew it was unacceptable when we fucking survived it,” Miller added. “That’s what Hollywood is. I thought we all knew we were sex workers.”
Hollywood’s warped hierarchy, according to The Hollywood Reporter, deeply upsets Miller, as he is dissatisfied with how powerful men in the film industry are “f—in’ up the world.” Miller was enraged by how director Lynne Ramsay, who he describes as “the greatest director alive,” was treated by producers and financier’s after being released from the 2015 western Jane Got a Gun.
“Powerful men, they don’t know how bad they want to submit to a woman, a feminine power, but they should,” Miller said. “I advise they do it immediately because they’re f—in’ up the world.”
Miller had worked with Ramsey on the film We Need to Talk About Kevin.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller has often been cited as the first non-heterosexual film superhero. When asked about how he has long identified as queer, Miller said, “Yeah, absolutely. Which is to say, I don’t identify. Like, f‒ck that.”
“Queer just means no, I don’t do that. I don’t identify as a man. I don’t identify as a woman. I barely identify as a human,” Miller added.
You can read Miller’s full interview in The Hollywood Reporter’s latest issue.