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Thandie says her character in series reflects truth of life
Actor Thandie Newton believes that her character’s journey in the television series, Westworld, is reflective of the struggles women face in the real world.
In the sci-fi drama, Newton plays Maeve, a robot who has been given the role of a prostitute in a Wild West theme but as she starts to gain conscience she remembers her daughter.
Newton said well-rounded characters for female actors are hard to come by so Maeve’s character in the series has been really special. “I’ve actually had to leave jobs, or say no to jobs because they’re sexist and misogynistic and racist and people don’t even realise they are being those things. But I’m pretty damn picky. And so, to play Maeve has been extraordinary, because I feel like I’ve been able to actually play a role that is in many ways reflecting the harrowing truth of what people go through in the world,” Newton said.
The actor-activist, who has been fighting against sexual harassment long before #MeToo movement hit Hollywood, said that she suffered for speaking out at that time. Newton said that she started reaching out to grassroots organisations to reach out to women who really needed her help rather than hang out with people “who have had a voice and money and power and haven’t done anything”.
The actor said her activism informs the performer in her and she channelled the suffering of the women she met during her charity work in the character of Maeve.
She added, “For me playing Maeve — who is a character that is forced to die again and again, and experience the cruelty again and again — it just conjures up my experience with women in Congo, who have suffered such horrific sexual violence that just destroys them .... These are the women that have inspired me.”