Kate Beckinsale Claimed Michael Bay Cast Her Because She Wasn’t Hot Enough in His Only Movie That Has Won an Academy Award Starring Ben Affleck
One of the most attractive women in the business is British actress Kate Beckinsale, who gained notoriety with Michael Bay’s 2001 film Pearl Harbor, which also starred Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding Jr., and many more. Pearl Harbor was a romantic war drama that focused on a love tale set within the events leading up to the attack, its aftermath, and the Doolittle Raid. It included a greatly fictionalized depiction of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Even though the movie appeared to be a hit at the box office, the story and the lengthy runtime, screenplay, and language garnered mixed reviews from the audience and critics. The filmmaker allegedly body-shamed the actress, according to Kate Beckinsale. Let’s find out more.
Kate Beckinsale says she wasn’t fit for Michael Bay’s requirement of an actress
Actress Kate Beckinsale, back in 2016 appeared on the Graham Norton Show and mentioned how the director of her successful movie Pearl Habor had body shamed her when they were filming the movie. Beckinsale was a new mother at the time. She said,
“I don’t think I fit the type of actress Michael Bay met before. I think he was baffled by me because my breasts weren’t bigger than my head and I wasn’t blonde. You’d think you’d take that really personally, but I sort of managed not to. It’s so extreme I kind of didn’t.”
The actress added at the time, “When we were promoting the film, Michael was asked why he had chosen Ben and Josh, and he said, ‘I have worked with Ben before and I love him, and Josh is so manly and a wonderful actor.’ Then when he was asked about me, he’d say, ‘Kate wasn’t so attractive that she would alienate the female audience.’”
She further said that she had just had her daughter at the time and had lost weight, but was told if she got the part, she‘d have to work out and she did not understand why a 1940s nurse would do that. In a podcast interview, the actress once again recalled the incident and said after the interview; “That was where I kind of was like, ‘Okay, dude, now you need to relax on this’. I think there’s something shaming about saying, ‘We don’t think Kate is attractive enough,’ whatever it was he said.”
What did Michael Bay say about casting Kate Beckinsale in Pearl Harbor?
During a Vanity Fair interview back in 2001 while promoting the movie, the director, Michael Bay was asked about his decision to cast the actress for the part, to which he said,
“I didn’t want someone who was too beautiful. Women feel disturbed when they see someone’s too pretty. I’m not saying Kate’s not pretty. When you look at Titanic, Kate Winslet is pretty, but not overwhelmingly beautiful. That makes it work better for women. Our Kate is very funny, fun with guys. She’s not so neurotic about everything, like some actresses. She was solid, and I think the three of them had some really nice chemistry.”
It was also reported that the actress had to go through rigorous diet plans and exercise regimes that were punishing according to her and she noted that they baffled her because she couldn’t understand why a woman who was in her 40s (in the movie) had to work out so much.
But at the same time, Ben Affleck had also shared that he was going through the same rigorous requirements as he shared during an interview with Uproxx that he would have quit the movie but was too embarrassed at that point to exit.
Michael Bay apologized to Kate Beckinsale for body-shaming comment
After the actress had shared how the director had made her feel and his comments did not sit well with her, the director decided to speak up and said that it was untrue that he believed that she was not beautiful, as he added that he thinks that she is a fantastic actress who is funny, witty, sassy and speaks up her mind.
Bay added at the time,
“So I guess I was the ‘bad guy’ 16 years ago for suggesting a trainer because she just had her new beautiful baby girl – and she was about to enter into an intensive action movie. Note to reporters: 95% of leads in movies have trainers and drink green juice!”
He had also concluded that they were friendly and she had attended so many of his Christmas and birthday parties, clarifying that the issue or rumor about them not liking each other was reported by a tabloid-esque reporter after the actress appeared on an edgy English talk show, speaking about our meeting 16 years ago while casting Pearl Harbor.
Source: US Today
