Patricia Clarkson: ‘A white male actor should never complain’

Patricia Clarkson believes white male actors have no right to bemoan female-led movies.
The 56-year-old actress has played her fair share of strong characters, from an evil corporation leader in The Maze Runner movies to a vicious mother in the 2002 version of horror film Carrie. She has faced inequality firsthand during her career, including pay gaps between herself and her male colleagues, but even now female actors are being recognised more with more projects driven by women, Patricia notes there’s still backlash.
One venture in particular that is currently bearing the brunt of it is the all-female remake of Ghostbusters, starring the likes of Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy.
“There are still so many movies made starring 50 men and one woman!” she sighed to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper. “A white male actor should never be allowed to complain about anything. Shut up and sit in the corner. I mean, seriously!”
“The odds of us having films made which star women… Everyone still references one movie: Bridesmaids! Ghostbusters is a great thing and I love these actresses. I can’t wait to see it.”
With her desire to take on challenging parts, it’s no surprise that Patricia bemoans how many female characters tend to be “softened”. Either that or they’re portrayed as “some ridiculous caricature like a dominatrix or a one-dimensional boss with no life and bad hair.” With this passion for equality, Patricia is keen to speak up to people giving her a hard time on movie sets.
“When I was younger, of course I had people act inappropriately to me,” she added to the publication. “I’ve had certain directors yell at me. But I didn’t stand for it and I didn’t let it go far enough for it to be in any way abusive to me.
“People didn’t speak up as much as they do now. Women have risen. But we’re still underpaid and we’re still a vast minority in this business.”