Thandie Newton has revealed that she passed on one of the lead roles in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels due to the characters' stereotyped sexuality.
Newton recalled the circumstances that led to her passing on the project in an interview with Vulture. "One of the biggest movies I didn't end up doing," Newton explained, "Was because the director said to me, 'I can't wait for this. The first shot is going to be … You're going to think it's like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize it's the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass it's going to look like tarmac.' I was like, 'Oh, I don't think we're going to go down this road together.'"
The actor also explained that further problems emerged when she spoke about the role with a studio executive. "I had a meeting with [the head of the studio]," Newton said, "And she said, 'Look, I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but the character as written and you playing the role, I just feel like we've got to make sure that it's believable.'"
"She's basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a Black character," Newton stated. "Everything she said, I was like, 'Nah, I wouldn't do that.' She’s like, 'Yeah, but you're different. You're different.' That was Amy Pascal. That’s not really a surprise, Let’s face it: I didn’t do the movie as a result."
Thandie Newton has been working in film and television for nearly 30 years. Her works as a performer include lead roles in films such as Besieged, Mission: Impossible 2, Crash and For Colored Girls, as well as a lead character in the TV show Westworld.