Naomi Watts was once told her career would be “over” once she hit age 40 — when she would supposedly become “unf – – kable.”
Watts, 54, got the unwanted advice when she was 33 years old, and she had just come out of starring in David Lynch’s 2001 psychological drama “Mulholland Drive.”
“I was told, ‘You better get a lot done because it’s all over at 40 when you become unf – – kable.’ And I’m like, ‘What? What does that mean exactly?’ ” she recalled to Entertainment Weekly.
“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.”
The “Feud” actress opened up about how she thinks the entertainment industry can better support women of a certain age.
“It’s such an awkward conversation because, from Day 1, 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.
“We don’t talk about a man aging hardly ever,” Watts 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.”
Watts, who has openly discussed aging, said women should be treated the same as men.
“It should be the same for women,” she said. “We’ve got important and powerful experiences as well at this age that we should feel proud of.”
She is also working to break the “over 40” stigma by putting a spotlight on the unmentionable topic of menopause. Watts has been candid about her own experience with menopause, sharing that it “happened far too early” for her.
She’s launching a menopause wellness brand, Stripes, on Oct. 18 — World Menopause Day.
Watts is set to star in co-creator Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Netflix thriller “The Watcher,” which is set to begin streaming Oct. 13.