Minnie Driver has claimed Harvey Weinstein tried to fire her from 'Good Will Hunting' because she wasn't "sexy".
Minnie Driver claims Harvey Weinstein tried to fire her because she wasn't 'sexy' enough for a role
The 52-year-old actress starred opposite Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as Skylar in the classic 1997 drama.
And after she recently revealed an unnamed producer's comments about her suitability for the role left her with insecurities, the British star has called out the disgraced movie mogul - who is currently serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault - for allegedly trying to fire her from the movie because he didn't think she was good looking enough.
In an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper, Minnie - who has just released her tell-all memoir, 'Managing Expectations - said: "I remember feeling so devastated until I realised, 'Hold on, just consider the source for a minute. That is an unutterable pig — why on earth are you worried about this f*** saying that you are not sexy?'
"But there are ramifications of that: that maybe I am not going to be hired because people don’t think I have the sexual quality that is required."
In response, a representative for Weinstein confirmed that he had championed Ashley Judd, 54, for the role, but claimed he didn't say anything "regrettable" about Minnie.
They said: "Harvey believes that Minnie Driver is an excellent actor, but it is true he had championed Judd for the role.
"He admits when he is wrong and Minnie was fantastic. He claimed to have never said anything regrettable about Ms Driver and had hired her for several films. He wishes her luck and success on her memoir."
The 'Modern Love' actress recently called out the unnamed producer for being "so dismissive" with their assessment and claimed Hollywood hasn't grown in that sense.
She said: "When a producer — a man or woman or non-binary person — distills an actor down to what they perceive as their sexiness, it’s so dismissive of that person.
"And by the way, that is something that has not changed — there are still just times when people are like 'she’s too old' or 'she’s too tall'.
"I’ve always thought about how things get distilled. There’s this notion of one part of you being 'the thing' that will block all these other aspects of who you are. That’s a huge frustration as an actor."
Tagged in Robin Williams Minnie Driver Harvey Weinstein