Sigourney Weaver believes she avoided Hollywood abuse because she was 30 when she found fame.
The ‘Alien’ actress, 73, is set to appear in Amazon Prime’s seven-part series ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’, adapted from Holly Ringland’s book of the same name, and tells through the language of flowers how a group of women come together to heal from grief, domestic violence and trauma.
Asked how she avoided the “abuse” that was rampant in the film business before the Me Too movement, Sigourney told the Sunday Times: “I was 28 when I became famous, so I managed to avoid a vulnerable time.”
“I think ‘Lost Flowers’ has more relevance and power in the wake of #MeToo.
“I was very grateful to do a project that focused on domestic violence. The statistics in the US are terrible because we have all these guns and so many domestic incidents involve guns.
Sigourney also spoke about how she has worked for many years on human rights, especially women’s issues.
She plays the role of June Heart in ‘Lost Flowers’, which was shot over four months in Australia during Covid.
Her husband of 38 years, theater director Jim Simpson, has been by her side throughout her long career, with the couple marrying in 1984, five years after the release of ‘Alien’.
Sigourney previously told The Hollywood Reporter: “What was achieved with #MeToo is an important step forward in the fight for equality in the workplace.
“Nowadays, I think women, in my opinion, are trying to help each other. There is a greater sense of sisterhood.
“When I was in college, we really thought we’d get equality in the Constitution. We’re still waiting!”
The three-time Academy Award-nominated actress added: “What we are against is the abuse of power… the sexual exploitation of the more vulnerable.
“It’s pretty clear to us in America, except for a few holdouts.”
She also said she was “very lucky” to start acting in theater because she worked with most of the gay playwrights she knew from drama school and gay producers, so no one was interested in me.
Sigourney added: “Then I made ‘Alien’, which was basically my first film, and nobody approached me.
“They were afraid I’d pull out a flamethrower, and I think they’re already too old to take advantage of me.”