
“When I was a 16 year old fresh from boarding school going out in, you know the casting couch, I was definitely objectified to an extreme,” she explained and added “The way I was made to feel. She revealed how she had been exploited by an unnamed director at the age of 16, whilst speaking to a CNN International journalist. The 40 year old British actress was speaking as part of the One Billion Rising campaign to end violence to women. The actress Thandie Newton has spoken out about the abuse that she suffered as a teenager, on a casting couch. The director then used the footage “late at night to interested parties at his house - a video of me touching myself with a camera up my skirt." Yet another harrowing example of abuse on the entertainment sector. “Before I started my dialogue, think about the character I was supposed to be having the dialogue with and how it felt to be made love to by this person.” "One director asked me to sit with my legs apart - the camera was positioned where it could see up my skirt - to put my leg over the arm of the chair,” continued Newton. The way I was exploited and the kind of role and the kinds of things I was expected to do in auditions.” Newton has been championing the One Billion Rising anti-violence campaign – a charity that aims to unite women against violence and abuse through dancing. Newton explained to CNN: "When I was a 16-year-old, fresh from boarding school, going out in, you know the casting couch, I was definitely objectified to an extreme. Thandie Newton – best known for her roles in Crash and The Pursuit of Happiness – has spoken out about the awful behaviour exhibited by an unnamed director during a casting session as a teenager.
Actress thandie newton parents series#
So it's no wonder that the country experiences a series of violent coups, ethnic cleansing and a hideous civil war.Ĭontinue reading: Half Of A Yellow Sun Review Indeed, the focus is on the contrast between locals caught in ethnic and religious traditions and the foreign-educated progressive thinkers. The 1960s are recreated on-screen with an attention to detail from the bustling village streets to the stylish Mad Men-like sophistication of upper-class sitting rooms. The film is punctuated with newsreel footage from the period, which adds to the authentic production design. And both of their relationship struggles are echoed in Nigeria's violent birth pangs. Meanwhile, Kainene has a passionate affair with married Englishman Richard (Joseph Mawle). Olanna falls for colleague Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), whose Mama (Onyeka Onwenu) treats her as if she's a witch. But it's their love lives that define them.

At the centre are twin sisters educated in America and Britain: Olanna (Thandie Newton) decides against working in the government, travelling north to teach at university Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) moves east to manage their father's business. The story starts in 1960 Lagos, as Nigeria proudly declares independence and looks to a bright future as Africa's largest, most prosperous nation. She then went on to study social anthropology at Downing College, Cambridge, from 1992 to 1995, where she achieved a 2:1. Raised in London and Penzance, Cornwall, she studied dance at the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and at sixteen, while recovering from a back injury, she successfully auditioned for her first film role. According to Newton, her mother is a Shona princess. The name "Thandiwe" means "beloved" in Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa or Swazi, and "Thandie" is pronounced /'tændi/ tan-dee in English. Her birthplace has been incorrectly reported to be Zambia in some biographies, but she has confirmed in interviews that she was born in London, during a two-week trip by her parents. Newton was born in London, the daughter of Nyasha, a Zimbabwean health-care worker and Nick Newton, a laboratory technician and artist. She has appeared in a number of British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run, Fatboy, Run and W. Thandiwe Nashita "Thandie" Newton (born 6 November 1972) is an English actress.
