Why Kerry Washington Declined Roles Stereotyping ‘White Girl’s Best Friend’ After Film with Meg Ryan
After acting with Meg Ryan in 2004’s “Against The Ropes,” Kerry Washington explained in her new memoir, “Thicker Than Water,” why she declined to play the “white girl’s best friend” role.
Read More: Kerry Washington Reveals She Had An Abortion Early In Her Career: ‘Choices Are Being Stripped Away From Us’
Washington portrayed Renee, Jackie Kallen’s best friend, who was portrayed by Ryan as the first and possibly most successful female boxing manager in history.
In an excerpt shared by Entertainment Weekly, Washington wrote, “In it, I played [Meg Ryan’s] coworker and confidante — this was becoming a new niche for me, the white girl’s best friend.”
In the book, she continued, “When Harry Met Sally” is, to this day, one of my top three movies of all time, so once I’d played Meg Ryan’s best friend, playing the role against anyone else would have been a lateral move.
Read More: Kerry Washington Reveals She Had An Abortion Early In Her Career: ‘Choices Are Being Stripped Away From Us’
Washington portrayed Renee, Jackie Kallen’s best friend, who was portrayed by Ryan as the first and possibly most successful female boxing manager in history.
In an excerpt shared by Entertainment Weekly, Washington wrote, “In it, I played [Meg Ryan’s] coworker and confidante — this was becoming a new niche for me, the white girl’s best friend.”
In the book, she continued, “When Harry Met Sally” is, to this day, one of my top three movies of all time, so once I’d played Meg Ryan’s best friend, playing the role against anyone else would have been a lateral move.
- 9/28/2023
- by Aashna Shah
- ET Canada
Kerry Washington explains in her new memoir, “Thicker Than Water,” that she actively rejected playing the “white girl’s best friend” after starring in “Against the Ropes,” the 2004 boxing drama headlined by Meg Ryan and Omar Epps. The film starred Ryan as Jackie Kallen, the first woman to achieve success as a boxing manager. Washington played Jackie’s best friend, a receptionist named Renee.
“In it, I played [Meg Ryan’s] coworker and confidante – this was becoming a new niche for me, the white girl’s best friend,” Washington writes (via Entertainment Weekly).
As Washington remembers, “Against the Ropes” was her third project in a row where she was playing the best friend to the white female lead. First came 2001’s “Save the Last Dance,” in which was Julia Stiles’ Bff, then she shot the scrapped pilot for the 2004 Fox dramedy series “Wonderfalls,” where she was the best friend of Caroline Dhavernas’ main character.
“In it, I played [Meg Ryan’s] coworker and confidante – this was becoming a new niche for me, the white girl’s best friend,” Washington writes (via Entertainment Weekly).
As Washington remembers, “Against the Ropes” was her third project in a row where she was playing the best friend to the white female lead. First came 2001’s “Save the Last Dance,” in which was Julia Stiles’ Bff, then she shot the scrapped pilot for the 2004 Fox dramedy series “Wonderfalls,” where she was the best friend of Caroline Dhavernas’ main character.
- 9/27/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Carlo Mendez will take over Alvaro Orlando’s role in the indie The Legend of Jack and Diane, following Orlando’s departure due to a scheduling conflict.
He joins a cast led by Tom Sizemore, which also includes Robert Lasardo, David Timlinson and newcomer Lydia Zelmac, with production currently underway in and around the Los Angeles area.
The film directed by Bruce Bellochi is a revenge thriller, which takes its name from John Mellencamp’s classic song “Jack & Diane.” It centers, of course, on Jack (Tomlinson) and Diane (Zelmac), who decide to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When the pair discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved.
Mendez will play Detective Stanley Montana,...
He joins a cast led by Tom Sizemore, which also includes Robert Lasardo, David Timlinson and newcomer Lydia Zelmac, with production currently underway in and around the Los Angeles area.
The film directed by Bruce Bellochi is a revenge thriller, which takes its name from John Mellencamp’s classic song “Jack & Diane.” It centers, of course, on Jack (Tomlinson) and Diane (Zelmac), who decide to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When the pair discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved.
Mendez will play Detective Stanley Montana,...
- 1/20/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Heat and Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore has boarded Bruce Bellocchi’s female revenge thriller The Legend of Jack and Diane.
In the movie, Diane (newcomer Lydia Zelmac) decides to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When Jack (David Tomlinson) and Diane discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved. Cameras roll in Los Angeles next month.
Sizemore will star alongside Zelmac, Tomilson, Robert Lasardo (The Mule) and Alvaro Orlando (Destin Daniel Cretton’s I Am Not a Hipster). Bellocchi is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Rick Geller and Zelmac.
The project was originally written as an episodic series for HBO but lost its footing when the pandemic crippled the entertainment industry last year.
In the movie, Diane (newcomer Lydia Zelmac) decides to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When Jack (David Tomlinson) and Diane discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved. Cameras roll in Los Angeles next month.
Sizemore will star alongside Zelmac, Tomilson, Robert Lasardo (The Mule) and Alvaro Orlando (Destin Daniel Cretton’s I Am Not a Hipster). Bellocchi is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Rick Geller and Zelmac.
The project was originally written as an episodic series for HBO but lost its footing when the pandemic crippled the entertainment industry last year.
- 12/14/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
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