Skip to main content
Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
More On:
Ellen Barkin
-
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Out-Laws’ on Netflix, The Latest Happy Madison Yukfest (That Doesn’t Feature Adam Sandler)
-
Poorna Jagannathan Is Hilarious As a Sexually Aggressive Villain in Netflix’s ‘The Out-Laws’
-
When Will ‘The Out-Laws’ Be on Netflix? How to Watch the Adam Devine and Nina Dobrev Movie
-
11 Best New Movies on Netflix: July 2023’s Freshest Films to Watch
In a recent interview with HuffPost promoting her Peacock Original comedy-drama series Poker Face, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Ellen Barkin opened up about the struggles she has faced coming up as a woman in the entertainment industry.
She didn’t hold back as she remembered various accounts of the misogyny and harassment she has faced throughout her incredible career, including one especially physically and emotionally painful experience that made her feel powerless.
“What was I going to do when [director] Harold Becker on Sea of Love walks over and literally rips my merkin off, taking some pubic hair with him and saying: ‘What do you need this for? Nobody’s looking at you.'”
Barkin recalls even her scene partner, Al Pacino, feeling “terrified” during the aforementioned nude scene in the 1989 neo-noir thriller film.
Even in more recent years, the actress has been the recipient of unfair, sexist treatment, including on TNT drama series Animal Kingdom, on which she acted as lead role Janine “Smurf” Cody from 2016 until the character’s death in 2019.
“I wanted out,” Barkin told HuffPost. “They didn’t kill me. I had been asking to leave for four years.” She continued to ruminate on the unpleasantness of the working environment that seems to continually allow men to disrespect women.
“Men used to come in my trailer and just scream at me. How’s that? With me pushing them out the door saying, ‘Get out of my trailer.’ That’s what it was like for me to go to work.”
Luckily, Barkin’s experience in her episode of Poker Face was an overwhelmingly positive experience, in large part due to everyone’s commitment to making it a supportive and safe space for women.
“[It’s] not just that I had a good time and it was fun, but I was so relaxed and safe,” she said of her time on the Natasha Lyonne-led show. “I haven’t felt that way since doing Ocean’s [Thirteen] with my friend George Clooney, because I knew nothing was going to happen to me bad. You just go into the safest environment.”
