An actor or actress turning down a scene happens more than we think. We've seen multiple examples in the past. Heck, Charlie Hunnam missed out on a huge opportunity with Fifty Shades of Grey, given that he wasn't comfortable with the revealing scenes. As we'll reveal in the following, Michelle Rodriguez wasn't a fan of a certain Fast & Furious storyline, and she ended up getting her way. We'll reveal why she took exception to the plot, and why the actress also almost left the film because of it. In addition, we'll take a look at other female stars that refused to shoot certain scenes. On that list is Emma Watson, and other female celebs that made the bold decision.
Michelle Rodriguez Revealed That There Was Too Much Focus On Male Driven Storylines During Fast And Furious
Michelle Rodriguez became a major reason for the success of the Fast & Furious franchise. However, at the start, things were very rocky between the two sides. In fact, the actress had turned down the role, given that she didn't want to be a 'trophy wife' type of character.
“When Michelle read her role, she was like, ‘No, I’m not playing that.’ And then she changed it completely. It went from a trophy girlfriend to this really layered character," co-star Jordana Brewster revealed.
Rodriguez caused the writers to make some major changes, as she got to empower her character as opposed to being a background player.
“It was a reality check for them to realize that the streets don’t work like that. You don’t just get with a guy because he’s hot. There’s a hierarchy there. Can that hot guy get beat up by who you’re dating? If he can, then you don’t date him, because why would you want to lose the hierarchy."
Rodriguez added that there was too much focus on males in film, from a writer's standpoint.
“The thing is, is that all the guys are focused on the guys, period. It’s just an egoist natural thing. For people, people just care about themselves usually, or people who look like them or act like them or have the same genitalia, I don’t know. It’s just how it works."
“And so I just know that if I bring up a female writer and she might care a little more about the female story.”
Rodriguez continued to make an impact behind the scenes,including when it came to shooting a certain storyline.
Michelle Rodriguez Declined The Storyline Of Letty Cheating On Dom With Brian, And She Was Completely Right
From a creative standpoint, Michelle Rodriquez completely disagreed with a storyline and looking back, she wasn't wrong. The idea was for Letty to cheat on Dom, but the actress hated the idea.
She explained, "They just followed the format without thinking about the reality of it. Is it realistic for a Latin girl who's with the alpha-est of the alpha males to cheat on him with the cute boy? I had to put my foot down. I basically cried and said, 'I'm going to quit and, Don't sue me, please---I'm sorry, but I can't do this in front of millions of people."
"My whole point in being an actress is that I thought I got to live a dream. And I don't dream about being a s---! Do you?!"
Rodriguez's feelings towards the storyline was aided by Vin Diesel, who also agreed that the plot wasn't right.
"Vin was the first one to pull me to the side while I was crying, and he just looked at me and said, 'I got your back. Chill out and let me handle this, and you're right."
The Fast & Furious star got her way, but she isn't the only celeb.
Michelle Rodriguez Is Far From The Only Female Celeb To Turn Down A Certain Scene
There are other female names that turned down scenes, because it didn't make much sense for the story. Isla Fisher was an example in Wedding Crashers, who didn't find it necessary to film a revealing scene, given what her character entailed.
"I feel like if you have a female comic character and then you see her nipples, then she is no longer funny, which is clearly wrong, but that was my theory, and that’s why I didn’t want to do it.” Fisher said.
Emma Watson also took a stand in This Is The End when she realized that she had signed up for, especially given a scene alongside Channing Tatum, which featured the actor stripping down.
Props to these women and so many others for standing up.
