Rebel Wilson Has to Hustle to Make Her Male-Written Roles Funny
"The female roles are only 20% there."
Rebel Wilson is comedy exemplified. The 29-year-old actress is known for the impeccable timing and improv skills she seems to bring to every character she plays (Fat Amy, Brynn, Tilly, let's not forget that time she played a zealous Insane Clown Posse fan named "Big Money Hustla" on Workaholics...)
But it hasn't been all fun and games for the performer.
"How I see it is, I do two types of job: dream jobs like female-driven comedies and the other job which is basically the boys' club," she told Elle UK. "I have done three big movies with men – these are talented, strong-minded males, but you have to find a way to work that system. You aren't being paid much and you start at a disadvantage with the script. Usually, you don't have any cool jokes and you're there to support the male actor. Those male roles are 90% written and formed by the time the filming starts but the female roles are only 20% there."
Showing we still have a long way to go before comedic roles for women are seen as the "norm" (and not brought up in every interview, ever...as if funny women is a NOVEL idea and totally new...), Wilson makes the limitations work for her.
"It's unfair, but I love being funny so I improve the role, work with the limited parameters and opportunities and maximize them."
It seems to be working, Rebel. It seems to be working.
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Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.
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