14 DAY TRIAL // Amber Heard is lending her voice to the large group of female stars, both younger and older, taking a stand against the sexism and ageism in Hollywood. The industry lacks in strong female characters, with a good story to tell, Amber says - and she knows this for a fact, having been in the industry for well over a decade and ending up typecast as the hot one.
Amber is now promoting the film “When I Live My Life Over Again,” which sees her play a punk rock singer opposite Christopher Walken. Speaking with E! News in a recent interview, she says this role is finally a departure from the character Hollywood wanted her to play for years in a row.
The way she sees it, in today’s film, you have only two options: you can either play the hot girl or not. Whichever you choose, you would still not be able to tell a real story and would function only as the male lead’s sidekick.
She finds that frustrating, because she knows for a fact that she could play a female character that would be both beautiful and strong, with a voice of her own.
For the time being, she’s typecast and she knows it, but she isn’t losing hope that a change for the better might occur someday. She’s doing her part, making sure she avoids the traps the industry sets in her way, by gravitating towards characters that combine strength and beauty.
Luckily for her, she can afford to get less work now, because this is what a decision of this type leads to.
“I try to find ways to make my characters stronger, independent. I’ve always chosen strong women, smart women, I’ve always chosen to protect myself as best I can, but the really [expletive]ed up thing is that nobody has any incentive in this industry to invest in something other than what can be seen in you or what’s the easiest thing to do,” she says.