Naomi Watts has no time for a Hollywood insider who told her she’d “become unf***able” at 40

Naomi Watts was once told that she needed to needed to achieve as much as possible in her acting career before becoming “unfuckable” over the age of 40 – but she’s determined to make Hollywood a better place for women.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Naomi Watts is riding high right now. After winning praise for her captivating performance in Amazon Prime’s remake of the 2014 horror film Good Night Mommy, the star is stepping into the small screen spotlight this month in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Netflix thriller The Watcher, which is inspired by a true story of a family whose dream home turned into a nightmare after a stalker waged a chilling campaign of harassment. 

Sadly, an acclaimed acting career isn’t enough to shield a woman in Hollywood from the never-ending onslaught of industry sexism. 

“I was told [taps an imaginary watch], ‘You better get a lot done because it’s all over at 40 when you become unfuckable’, she told Entertainment Weekly. 

And I’m like, ‘What? What does that mean exactly?’ Then you think about it, and you go, ‘Oh, right. When you are no longer reproductive, when those organs are no longer functioning, you are not sexy, so, therefore, you are not hirable.’ That just made me so mad.”

An outrageous display of sexism, we’re sure you’ll agree. Whoever the tragic figure was that imparted those words, though, Watts would go on to prove that they were woefully misinformed. During her 21-year acting career, the star has turned her hand to a range of consistently eclectic and thought-provoking projects, including her performance as a grief-stricken mother in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2003 film 21 Grams and her role as Maria Bennett in the 2012 disaster film The Impossible, both of which earned her Oscar nominations.

Clearly, Watts is living proof that talent has no sell-by date. Even so, she’s still fighting to make Hollywood a fairer and more inclusive place for women who continue to suffer from pervasive sexism and ageism.

When asked what Hollywood can do better to make room for older women, Watts pointed out the double standard facing women whose appearance is constantly called into question.

“It’s such an awkward conversation because, from day one, we begin our ageing process,” she remarked. “It’s something we just all have to get comfortable with and women are asked to do it more than men.”

“We don’t talk about a man ageing hardly ever,” she continued. “We don’t talk about his gray hair. In fact, if we do, it’s like, ‘Oh, he gets more handsome, more desirable, more powerful.’

“And why is he powerful? Because he’s accumulated experiences. Well, it should be the same for women. We’ve got important and powerful experiences as well at this age that we should feel proud of.”

Watts’ experience, sadly, is just one example of how Hollywood continues to reduce women to the sum of their looks. Recently, Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron opened up about a “belittling” experience from her early career whereby a male director made her attend multiple wardrobe fittings to make her look more “fuckable” in their film.

“I remember one movie in particular, this male director who just kept bringing me in, fitting after fitting after fitting,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “It was just so obvious that it was to do with my sexuality and how fuckable they could make me in the movie. And when I started out, that was just kind of the norm.”

“Having absolutely no control over what you’re wearing is a big one that really fucking annoyed me for years,”. “Having some guy make you have a fitting almost in front of them — stuff like that, it’s really belittling. When I started, there was no conversation around it. It was like, ‘This is what you’re wearing.’”

Despite these stories, it’s heartening that actors like Watts and Theron continue to lift the lid on the challenges women face in Hollywood. By sharing their stories and advocating for progress, there’s real hope that the industry culture will change for the better.

Images: Getty; Netflix

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