Samantha Morton believes she has managed to sustain an acting career because she "was never seen as beautiful".
Samantha Morton: 'I wasn't considered beautiful'
While the 47-year-old actress thinks things are now improving, she says that Hollywood is particularly unfair to middle-aged women.
She explained to HELLO magazine: "I think I was blessed because I was never seen as beautiful. I was never invited to be on the cover of Vanity Fair or the cover of any kind of beauty magazines. I was just a character actress so I continued to work.
"I wouldn't get certain roles because I wasn't considered beautiful when I was younger but I would get the heroin addict or the prostitute.
"I don't really know how it is for Hollywood actresses but I do know that there were people on those Vanity Fair covers from 1990 onwards who you just don't see anymore.
"I wonder what happened to them, whether they just decided to have a family and not work any more with different priorities."
And, Samantha says that American actresses have a more difficult time in Hollywood because the English film and TV world is less focused on beauty.
She said: "It's more about what your art is and I think that's hard for American actresses who are always judged on beauty."
Samantha's 'The Serpent Queen' co-star Minnie Driver, 54, agrees.
She said: "I think it's also the evolution of women and society as well. It's not just Hollywood, things are changing. Even though it feels as if it's at a glacial pace, they are changing."
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