Naomi Watts Speaks Out About Ageism In Hollywood: 'I Was Told My Career Would Be Over at 40'

Naomi Watts is opening up about the time she was told that her career was essentially over at 40.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the 54-year-old actress said she was told that her career would be over earlier than expected after what was considered her breakout film, Mulholland Drive. She was 33 when she starred in the 2001 movie.

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Naomi shared that she “was told [taps an imaginary watch], ‘You better get a lot done because it’s all over at 40 when you become unf***able.’ 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,” she says.

Naomi is hoping to change that narrative though.

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

Naomi went on, “We don’t talk about a man aging hardly ever. 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.”

Just recently, this other actress spoke about the same issue.