Kristen Bell was told she wasn’t "pretty enough" at the start of her career.
The ‘Frozen 2’ star has revealed she faced plenty of rejection for roles when she was finding her feet as an actress, and said many auditions would result in her being told she lacked the looks needed to play the "pretty girl", as well as the "quirky" personality needed for the "weird girl" roles.
She said: "I remember early on, getting feedback, that I wasn’t enough in either category. I would get feedback from an audition: ‘Well, you’re not pretty enough to play the pretty girl, but you’re not quirky enough or weird enough to play the weird girl.’ "
Kristen tried not to let the criticism get to her, but began to wonder if she could make it as an actress at all without fitting into a specific category.
She added: "I was like, ‘Okay, does that just mean I can’t be an actor? What does that mean.’ That’s what I was getting feedback on, on every audition."
The 39-year-old actress is pleased to see the industry beginning to change now, as she praised the inclusion of "dimensional" roles that don’t just stick to one trope.
Kristen told Vanity Fair in an interview for their YouTube channel: "I think as I’ve grown older, those boxes have changed … and [have] almost gone away. It’s this huge grey area now of all these beautiful stories you can tell … that have dimensional people that don’t have to be one thing.
"It’s not the ’80s where you have to have the popular girl and then the nerd who gets the guy. It’s not that anymore and I’m really grateful for that. It opens up a lot of opportunities for everyone to play and pretend, which is the most fun part."
Kristen Bell: People told me I wasn’t pretty enough to be an actress
