Anna Kendrick Says ''What the F--k'' to Gender Bias in Hollywood: ''The Only Explanation Is There Are So Many Talented Girls''

"I'm glad that [equality's] feeling like a bigger issue now," Glamour's June cover girl says in the magazine's Success Issue

By Natalie Finn May 06, 2015 2:12 AMTags
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Anna Kendrick knows a thing or two about success by now.

But the Oscar-nominated actress isn't taking anything for granted—especially because she went out and worked her butt off for that success.

"As an actress you're perpetually about to be unemployed," the Pitch Perfect 2 star and Glamour's June Success Issue cover girl tells the magazine. "That fear—when you have two parents who worked 9-to-5 jobs and went through periods of being unemployed—is real. Those were not welcome times in my childhood.

"Working 14 hours a day isn't sustainable, but I prefer it [to doing fewer films]. I might as well be doing the thing that I wanted to do my whole life."

And having an Oscar nomination (for Up in the Air) and two hit franchises (Twilight and, once the sequel comes out May 15, Pitch Perfect) under her belt at 29 is no joke.

Speaking of which...

"I felt different at 29 because 29, to me, is 30," said Kendrick, who will turn 30 on Aug. 9. "There are times when I still feel like an actual toddler in a grown-up—well, semi grown-up—body. But other times I can't wait to actually be 30, just so I can say things like, ‘I'm 30. I don't have time for that. F--k off!'"

We do love the mouth that Kendrick has on her, a mouth she apparently cultivated back in middle school.

"I didn't feel I was extraordinary in terms of looks or academia," the cute-as-a-button and quick-witted star recalled. "I was like, 'Well, I can take a joke and I can make one too. I've got that going for me!' So I leaned into that. There was a sense of, 'I refuse to allow you to make me feel uncomfortable.' That carried over into adulthood. I'm not saying it's healthy. It's a defense mechanism, but it's one that serves me well."

Kendrick's overall vibe has certainly endeared her to millions of fans, so even though it shouldn't shock us, it's still shocking to find out that she doesn't just get her pick of lead roles and in some cases actually has to wait for someone to tell her whether she'll mesh with the male lead or not.

"All the films nominated [for a Best Picture Oscar] this year had male leads. Like, every single one. So I'm glad that [equality's] feeling like a bigger issue now," Kendrick said. The crop she's referring to included—in addition to Best Picture winner Birdman—Selma, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, American Sniper (all of which, to be fair, were about real-life male figures and almost all featured Oscar-nominated female performances), The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash and Boyhood.

"There's [a film I'm considering] now where I have to wait for all the male roles to be cast before I can even become a part of the conversation," she continued. "Part of me gets that. Part of me is like, ‘What the f--k? You have to cast for females based on who's cast as males?'

"To me, the only explanation is that there are so many f--king talented girls, and from a business standpoint it's easier to find women to match the men. I totally stand by the belief that there are 10 unbelievably talented women for every role."

But only one Anna Kendrick.

The June issue of Glamour is on newsstands May 12.