Sarah Snook Says Casting Director Told Her to Change Everything to Be Marketable, Called Her a ‘Nobody’

A producer body-shamed her for eating the “tiniest bit of chocolate cake,” she adds, doing it in front of her castmates and the crew

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“Succession” star Sarah Snook is coming forward in an interview with The Sunday Times, revealing that she’s been mistreated on set by both a casting director and a film producer. The actress said that, after landing a part in a movie, the casting director in question told her, “We don’t really want you because you’re a nobody, but the director and the writer think you’re good for the role.”

According to Snook, the casting director added, “So what we’ll do is change all of you so that you’re marketable: We’ll whiten your teeth, darken your hair, we’ll give you a personal trainer so you can lose weight and look the part.”

Snook said she agreed to the demands at the time because she believed “in order for me to be successful, I have to be all the things that aren’t me.”

The actress also said that on a separate movie set, a producer body-shamed her for eating the “tiniest bit of chocolate cake,” which prompted a costume designer to step in and defend her. Snook is still bothered by the experience. She asked, “The infantilizing of women, to not be able to make their own decisions, why would we do that to women?”

Snook has laid low since the conclusion of “Succession” in May of last year for a good reason — the actress and her Australian comedian husband Dave Lawson announced they had welcomed their first baby together one day after the finale aired.

Snook told the Times that watching the finale was an emotional experience. She explained, “I was three or four weeks postpartum, the hormones were raging. But it was just the chrysalis of knowing that’s the end of this really important, special part of my life.”

She will return to acting soon, appearing onstage in London’s West End’s production of “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Snook, who took over the role from Eryn Jean Norvill, will play all 26 roles.

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