Actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks has opened up about the misogyny she has faced as a woman filmmaker, revealing she was once told she "can't direct men" in Hollywood.
The four-time Emmy nominee, who has directed films like Pitch Perfect 2, Charlie's Angels, and Cocaine Bear, shared her experience during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
"I was literally told because I direct films that, 'You can't direct men. They won't follow you,'" Banks said, reflecting on the industry bias she encountered. She went on to counter that claim with confidence, adding, "And then I directed Ray Liotta, who played Henry Hill in Goodfellas, and I think I nailed it. Check the list off. It's all good," according to Deadline.
Banks also stressed the need for more representation in filmmaking. "Despite me knowing that I'm in a great club, it's a really small club, and it needs more representation. We need more storytellers from different perspectives, angles. And we need more audiences to watch. ... I'm having a lot of fun making sure that women have a real sense of agency in whatever they're doing, whatever stories I'm telling," she said.
The actor-director was promoting her upcoming Apple TV+ series The Miniature Wife, in which she stars alongside Matthew Macfadyen. The show follows a writer who is literally shrunk to six inches by her scientist husband, leading to an absurd yet symbolic exploration of power dynamics in relationships.
"It's a very funny show, but what I really was drawn to was, we get to sort of talk about a big feeling, which is feeling diminished by a partner," Banks explained. "Or in your professional life, in your romantic life, I think we all have that relatable experience of being made to feel small every once in a while. And in this case, it's literal and physical, and we get to sort of look at that from an absurdist lens, but talk about some big issues that I think people understand."
