Kate Beckinsale: I was told I had no 'edge'

20 November 2016

Kate Beckinsale was told she didn't have much "edge" as a young actress.

Kate Beckinsale

The 'Love & Friendship' star began her acting career in independent British films and admits that had an effect on how people perceived her.

She said: "I started in independent British film-making.

"When I began working outside of England, what I kept running into was, 'She's very British and delicate, she doesn't have much edge.'"

And the 43-year-old actress - who has 17-year-old daughter Lily with her former partner Michael Sheen - is thrilled with how Hollywood has progressed in the recent years in regards to female-led films.

She told ScreenDaily.com: "The needle has moved. 'Bridesmaids' was a watershed moment. But now everyone just wants to make female comedies that make tonnes of money, it's coming from a cynical perspective ... [I believe in] well-made films that are well-acted and directed. It's important that everybody is represented."

Meanwhile, Kate previously admitted she finds it "a little bit depressing" that she will be remembered most for the 'Underworld' film series.

She shared: "It has lasted pretty well. It's a little bit depressing that that's probably what's going to be on my gravestone. I'm far more comfortable with learning 70,000 words of dialogue. That's much more in my comfort zone. Whereas jumping off things and doing a roly-poly in leather tights, that's a bit like, 'What the f**k am I doing here still?' It's always been a hilarious joke to my family that I've been allowed to get away with it."

And Kate recently confessed to only signing up to the role in 'Underworld' because her now estranged husband Len Wiseman was directing it.

She added: "The second one we absolutely did because we were just getting married. When he did a movie, he'd be tied up for more than two years, and we weren't ready to have that happen to us. That was 100 percent what that was about.

"I don't regret having done it, but I think I regret it has eclipsed some of the things that feel much more genuinely me. It's slightly taken over - it was running the show a bit, in a way that was surprising to me."