This Week's Cover: Beyond Beautiful with Reese, Kerry, Elizabeth, and Eva
Go Beyond Beautiful! Entertainment Weekly takes you inside our roundtable discussion with some of Hollywood’s smartest, funniest and bravest actresses. To get the issue, head here — and subscribe now for the exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.
Actresses are supposed to be beautiful. And relatable. And flawless. Not outspoken content creators with opinions, desires and agendas. But Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria, and Elizabeth Banks are all of those things. So we gathered them together for an unfiltered conversation about what women can and can’t do.
They spill it all. Dressed as casual as can be in white button-down shirts and blue jeans, the women dish on everything from the rumors that prompt calls from mom to how information revealed through the Sony hack revolutionized Hollywood. Looks like that’s what happens when you don’t just #AskHerMore, you #AskHerEverything.
Below are some highlights from that roundtable conversation; the full video of which will be released online Friday.
Kerry Washington on the pressures women face (and being allowed to fail):
“It reminds me of this line that Shonda Rhimes wrote on our show that has really resonated with African-Americans. It’s this idea you have to be twice as good to get half of what they have. It’s something that most black people I talk, when they heard that line, it completely resonated with how they were raised and the messaged their parents gave them. ‘That’s just the truth.’ I think it’s the same for women. You just know, you have to be twice as good. In a way, until girls don’t have that feeling, we will not have done our jobs. That’s almost the point: to not feel the pressure to be extraordinary.” (See the full video clip above.)
Elizabeth Banks on what gave her the confidence to step behind the camera for the first time:
“I think it was partially internal. I felt very underused. I went to a really competitive college. I went to grad school. I’m competitive naturally as a human being. And suddenly I was in an industry that said, “You can just sit over there and wait and we’ll call you.”
Reese Witherspoon on when she decided acting wasn’t enough:
“About four years ago I got sent an awful, terrible script. And this male star was starring in it, and there was a girlfriend part. And I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me. No, I’m not interested.” They said, “Well this actress is chasing it, that actress is chasing it: three Oscar winners and two huge box office leading ladies.” And I thought, “Oh, that’s where we’re at? You’re fighting to be the girlfriend in a dumb comedy? For what?” And by the way, two Oscar winners did it.”
Eva Longoria on the power of social media:
“I remember starting on Twitter. I loved the immediate way I could correct things. At the time there were just so may lies. It was stupid stuff, like “Eva’s pregnant, Eva’s pregnant, Eva’s pregnant.” I’m like, “Guys, I ate a burger. I’m not pregnant”… because my mom would call!”
For more on our cover story, and exclusive news on Deadpool, HBO’s Vinyl, and more, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands Friday.
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