Gina Gershon turned down 'exploitative' film role
Actress Gina Gershon has revealed she turned down a role in 1981 horror movie Friday the 13th Part 2 because she thought it felt "exploitative".
Gina Gershon turned down a role in Friday the 13th Part 2 because it felt "exploitative".
The 63-year-old actress has revealed she was offered the chance to star in the 1981 horror movie sequel but she rejected the part over the planned nudity involved.
In her new memoir, AlphaP***y: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, she wrote: "At the time, those kinds of slasher movies always had girls dying with their breasts exposed.
"My character would be killed by a stake through the heart, blood dripping down her t***. That seemed pretty lame to me: exploitation 101."
She went on to add in an interview with Fox News: "I was offered a lead in that movie. And, of course, I was so excited to act in movies, but it definitely felt kind of exploitative to me and a little silly that right before she gets killed, her top has to come off."
Gina added that she turned to her father for advice on whether she should take the job or not. She told the outlet: "Listen, I was really lucky that I had a father who really taught me how to believe in my own decisions.
"It wasn’t like I had to rebel against my family. I remember asking him about it, thinking he was going to say: 'No daughter of mine is going to do that!’ And he said: 'It’s your body. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m comfortable with it'.
"When I sat and thought about it, I just thought: 'I don’t really want to do this'. I wasn’t comfortable with it. It seemed silly to me. Not that I had anything against nudity - I grew up on European films - but only if it makes sense for the character and the story.
"But when it just seems silly, I don’t know. It just felt like it was something that wasn’t for me."
In the book, Gina revealed her father passed away not long after she turned the role down and she insisted his advice became invaluable as she built her career in Hollywood.
She wrote: "My dad may have died too soon, but he taught me many valuable lessons in the 19 years I had with him," Gershon wrote. "Mainly, he taught me to trust myself in making my own decisions.
"This theme of trusting my gut kept showing up in my life."
