Stefania Sarrubba
Anna Kendrick has recalled an embarrassing moment where a director belittled her in front of everyone on set, though she was able to get her revenge.
The Pitch Perfect star recently made her feature directorial debut with Netflix movie Woman of the Hour, a thriller on the bizarre story of serial killer Rodney Alcala in reality TV show The Dating Game during his murder spree.
Kendrick also stars in the movie as Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress who starred on The Dating Game episode featuring Alcala.
Speaking about her first time as a director, Kendrick looked back on an 'icky' incident with an unnamed filmmaker who pulled a 'power move' on her.
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"I remember a director once in a room full of 100 extras or something being like, ‘Hey, on this next one just try something. Just make something up. Just improv something,'" she said on Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast.
"And I did it and then the director called cut and came over and, once again in front of 100 extras, was like, ‘Oof, let’s go back to the script!’" she continued.
"It really felt like a very specific power move thing to embarrass me, to gain dominance," Kendrick said. "It was very icky.”
However, the star managed to get the upper hand when the improvised bit she did ended up in the trailer for the project.
"And then the thing that I improved ended up in the trailer," she added. "So, f**k you!"
As an actress in Hollywood, this wasn't the only upsetting moment Kendrick has had to go through.
In another interview, the Up in the Air star revealed that a moment from Woman of the Hour is taken from her own experience.
In the scene, Kendrick's character Cheryl is made to feel uncomfortable by two male casting directors.
"That is lifted verbatim from something that happened to me when I was 19," the actress shared in a chat with The Guardian.
"I've had experiences where I found out there was a wardrobe change that the costume designer had been cagey about, likely because she felt her hands were tied," she explained.
"It's like you can't get to the bottom of it: 'Wait – sorry – um, why would I be in a bathing suit in this scene?' But I'm grateful that this happens a lot less now. And when you say you're uncomfortable, there’s more of a culture of being taken seriously."
Woman of the Hour is streaming on Netflix now.