Diane Kruger
Appraised as “a piece of meat” for “Troja”.
Diane Kruger looks back in horror.
© Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/ImageCollect
During the casting of “Troy”, Diane Kruger had to stand in front of a producer, lightly dressed. She felt like a piece of “meat”.
Diane Kruger (45) felt like a piece of “meat” during the casting for “Troy” (2004). In a conversation at the “Variety” studio at the SXSW Festival in Austin, the actress recalled an “awkward” situation.
In Wolfgang Petersen’s (81) Homer adaptation, Kruger played the beautiful Helene, whose kidnapping triggers the Trojan War. As part of test recordings, she had to dance in a skimpy costume with a Warner Bros. studio boss.
“Right from the start I encountered the Weinsteins of this world”
“I felt like meat, looked up and down and asked, ‘Why do you think you should play the part?'” Kruger didn’t identify the producer. “I ran into the Weinsteins of this world from the start,” she said simply. She is alluding to the case of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein (69), who used his position of power to sexually harass actresses.
The former model said she found the situation inappropriate. But as a newcomer to Hollywood, she also thought it was normal. “I come from the fashion business and there are moments like that, believe me.”
In her next film “Swimming with Sharks” Diane Kruger plays a ruthless producer herself. The project is a remake of the satire “Unter Haien in Hollywood” (1994), this time with a female main cast. In the original, Kevin Spacey (62) played a sadistic Hollywood boss. Ironically, Spacey, who was later also accused of sexual abuse.