Sarah Snook’s already having a trophy haul season, as she took home her second Golden Globe this year for Best Actress in a Drama Series. She won the accolade for playing Shiv Roy, the mercenary girl boss, in the HBO’s Succession (which also won best TV drama).
This award is another feather to her collection, which is so epic on its own: Two Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics Choice Award, two AACTA Awards, and even an Irish Person TV Award.
But despite the current acclaim, the Australian star disclosed that she was treated like dirt by both a casting agent and a producer when she was just starting out in the industry.
Sarah Snook Proved Herself to Those Who Thought She Was a “Nobody”
Early in her career, Snook faced rejection from a casting agent and producer. They didn’t want her in the film, thinking she was a “nobody.” She revealed what the casting director said to her on The Sunday Times:
“What we’ll do is change all of you so that you’re marketable: we’ll whiten your teeth, darken your hair, we’ll give you a personal trainer so you can lose weight and look the part.”
Despite this, the writer and director wanted her to get featured. On the same project, the actress revealed that once she “had the tiniest bit of chocolate cake,” and for doing so, she was scolded by the producer in front of the whole cast and crew.
But a costume designer stood up for her and told her to keep eating the cake. Still, “all the while, I am dying inside,” she added.
Although, the now 36-year-old defied all the odds and established herself in the industry. In fact, the Succession star has slammed Hollywood’s so-called beauty standards.
Sarah Snook isn’t Down with Hollywood’s Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Sarah Snook admitted to the same outlet that, growing up, no one thought she was attractive. But she had learned to separate her self-worth from her appearance.
Anyway, this changed when she secured a role as a prisoner of war in the 2010 film Sisters of War. The award-winning actress recalled, “And realistically, for the role, I had to lose a bunch of weight. And then I remember this guy going, ‘Oh, when did you get hot?’”
The remark hit her with a realization, “I’m only worthwhile as an object in the eyes of another person by being a shape that is appreciable to them,” adding, “That’s so f***ed up.”
She also told Vogue Australia that each time she secures a role, there’s an initial excitement to transform her physique to align with the idealized image of a movie star. But the South Australian native also said there is a need to conform these “unrealistic beauty standards” that make women unhappy if they can’t attain them.
Watch Succession on HBO and Sisters of War on Prime Video.
