Thandie Newton wasn’t the only one to have a horrible audition process for 2000′s Charlie’s Angels movie, Nia Long did as well.
Speaking with Insider, the 49-year-old actress recalled going out for the same role of Alex Munday for the movie, which ultimately starred Lucy Liu in the role, opposite Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore.
Nia shared that her agent notified her that she wouldn’t be getting the part because she “looked too old” to star alongside Drew, although they are only four years apart.
“I was like, ‘What?’” she said. “I love Drew Barrymore, I think she’s amazing, but I think that was just a nice way to say you’re a little too Black. Personally, that’s what I think. Because if you notice there were no brown skin [actors]. I mean, honestly, I would have been the blackest thing in the film.”
Nia explained that “the feedback that I received from my agent was, ‘She just looked too old and sophisticated to be next to Drew Barrymore,’ and I’m thinking to myself, it’s an actor’s choice to walk in the room how they want to look, but it’s a director’s vision to help create and curate a character. So if you couldn’t see beyond the fact that I had on a blazer and a pair of jeans then that was clearly not the job and opportunity for me. So, no problem, I’ll keep it moving.”
Thandie made headlines earlier this month in a tell-all interview where she opened up about her own experience auditioning for the part, saying that she believed she was going to be objectified in the film and because of Amy Pascal‘s remarks.
