Dakota Johnson may rank as one of Hollywood’s most coveted rising stars, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t already dreading the obstacles that come with being an actress with the audacity to age in Hollywood. In a new interview with Vogue UK, the Fifty Shades of Grey talent not only acknowledged the issue of ageism in the entertainment industry, but she took it to task for shutting the door for talented actresses in favor of a youth bias.
Johnson cited her own family as proof that ageism is alive and well in Hollywood. Using her mom Melanie Griffith and grandmother Tippi Hedren as examples, Johnson described the climate as “f*cking brutal” even if you’re a star of their caliber.
“Why isn’t my mother in movies? She’s an extraordinary actress! Why isn’t my grandmother in movies? This industry is f*cking brutal,” she stated candidly. “No matter how tough you are, sometimes there’s the feeling of not being wanted. It’s absurd and cut-throat. Whenever I have downtime, I’m unsure that I will ever work again. I don’t know what it is, but it’s a definite thing that happens to me.”
As you can see from the colorful rectangle below, the 26-year-old thespian is proudly splashed on the cover of the new edition of Brit-friendly Vogue.
Dakota Johnson covers February Vogue: https://t.co/fJlam62gVW pic.twitter.com/GUNbaaVR45
— British Vogue (@BritishVogue) January 5, 2016
In addition to chatting with the publication about ageism, Johnson also shared her thoughts on the S&M flavored box office smash that ushered her into a new realm of stardom. She’s pretty cool with the film even if your local film critic isn’t nutty about it.
“I’m proud of Fifty Shades of Grey. I don’t need to distance myself from that,” she told us. “The more work I do, the more the general public sees the different things I can do. Do I think it opened doors? Yeah. More people know my name.”
The new issue of Vogue UK hits newsstands on January 7.
(Via The Guardian)
