Felicity Jones thinks actresses are scared of playing the role as a mother in films.
The 33-year-old actress, who plays the maternal role in ‘A Monster Calls’ alongside Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson, has admitted she believes the word ‘mother’ "strikes fear" in female stars because of the "stereotype" surrounding the role.
Speaking about the role to Total Film magazine, the brunette beauty – who play’s Lewis MacDougall’s on-screen mother in the upcoming movie who is battling with a terminal illness – said: "I play Lizzie, who’s a very young mother.
"She’s had her son when she was probably a little too young, and she doesn’t quite know herself. So she’s grappling with her own identity, trying to bring up her son in some quite difficult circumstances.
"It’s interesting because sometimes for actresses, the word ‘mother’ can strike fear. I think sometimes cinema can suffer from a kind of stereotype of ‘the mother’. And what I’ve loved about Bayona’s films, particularly with ‘The Orphanage’, is he never patronises the idea of ‘the mother’. He conveys ‘the mother’ as these complex women – being a mother is a part of who they are, it’s not the entirety of who they are."
And the ‘The Theory of Everything’ star – who made her acting debut at 11 years old – has admitted
there’s too much "pressure" on young actors to "rush" their career.
She explained: "When you’re a young actor, there’s this pressure to rush.
"There’s so much of a desire in the entertainment industry for newness, a desire to build somebody up and then treat them as old news within six months."
However, Jones has revealed she strives for longevity in her career and hopes she will still be cast in movies when she is 70.
Speaking about the film industry, she said: "But I hope to be doing this in my sixties and seventies, so I’d prefer to take my time."
Felicity Jones: ‘For actresses, the word ‘mother’ can strike fear’
