Gemma Chan Reveals How Racial Stereotyping Impacted Her Career

Gemma Chan looks stunning on the cover of Glamour UK‘s digital #EverydayIsWomensDay March issue, available now.

Here’s what the 36-year-old actress had to share with the mag:

On women being asked about ageing more than men: “Discussions around ageing have been a way of controlling women, making women feel insecure about ourselves and as if they aren’t adequate. We need to change things, especially in the beauty industry. The ageing process is going to happen to all of us – how are we going to deal with it? I think ‘anti-ageing’ is a prehistoric term.

On how racial stereotypes impacted her career: “Back when I started out a lot of the parts that I would be asked to audition for would be specifically ethnic parts. But I was told things like,’ we really liked you, we liked your read, but can you do more of an accent, you sound too English!’ There were preconceived ideas of what someone like me should sound like.”

On using rejection as fuel: “I put that energy into my work and it just makes me more determined to do what I do. That’s why it’s so important for a film Crazy Rich Asians to come out and challenge and subvert people’s ideas of what Asian people are like or perhaps what women are capable of…I think we need to challenge prejudice as a whole, to be honest.”

For more from Gemma, visit GlamourMagazine.co.uk.