Reese Witherspoon: You don't see many complicated women on film

The Oscar-winning actress has spoken out about the film industry, and the lack of opportunities for women
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Mollie Goodfellow1 December 2014
The Weekender

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Reese Witherspoon has opened up about the lack of "complex" roles for women in Hollywood.

The actress, who stars in and co-produced her latest film Wild, has spoken to Harper’s Bazaar about the limitations faced by actresses who try to make it in Hollywood.

Flawless: the actress has her trademark blonde hair curled in retro waves (Picture: Alexi Lubomirski)

She said: “It wasn’t as if there was a lack of roles being offered to me. It was the dynamic aspect of playing a really interesting, complicated person that was not readily available. Honestly, I don’t know a woman who isn’t complicated. It’s strange that you don’t see many complicated women on film; complicated meaning complex, I should say.”

Reese also hit back at being stereotyped as an actress because of her looks, saying: "Don’t put me in that box. Or any box, for that matter. People are complex, on-screen and off. Can’t we do justice to that?"

Beauty: the Legally Blonde actress is January's Harper's Bazaar cover star (Picture: Alexi Lubomirski )

Wild, her latest film, sees Reese take on the role of Cheryl Strayed, a woman who hiked alone down the Pacific Crest Trail and struggled with drug addiction.

On the role she said: "I’ve never done drugs, so I was really confused. I didn’t know what I was doing. It just required being in a really raw emotional place that didn’t feel good.

"[The sex scenes were], like, three per cent of the movie, but it took up a tremendous amount of fear in my mind because it’s daunting. I never looked ahead at the schedule. I would wake up in the morning and say, 'What are we doing today?' And I’d prepare on the way to work. Sometimes I was just terrified. Like a cat on a raft… “You can’t make me do it.”’

The full interview appears in the January issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK – on sale 2 December and online here.

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