Alicia Silverstone is getting real about the difficulties she's had to face being in the Hollywood spotlight for decades.
Alicia Silverstone is getting real about the difficulties she's had to face being in the Hollywood spotlight for decades.
The 43-year-old actress has been famous since she was a teen, becoming a superstar after starring in 1995's Clueless. But while the now-iconic film thrust her into the A-list at just 18 years old, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. In a new interview with The Guardian, Silverstone talks about being constantly judged at the time by her appearance.
"It was really just extreme how I was being talked to and talked about," she reflects. "I think I just got really turned off by it."
Later, she got cruel comments following her role as Batgirl in 1996's Batman & Robin starring George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell, when some criticized her for her weight.
"They would make fun of my body when I was younger," she says, looking back. "It was hurtful but I knew they were wrong. I wasn't confused. I knew that it was not right to make fun of someone's body shape, that doesn't seem like the right thing to be doing to a human."
Silverstone says she was subjected to plenty of toxic behavior at the time.
"There were working circumstances that were less than favorable in terms of how things went down," she shares. "And no, I didn't say 'f**k you' and come out like a warrior but I would just walk away and go, 'OK I know what that is and I'm done, I'm not going near that again.'"
Over the years, Silversone began to shift more and more of her focus on fighting for animal rights as opposed to acting.
"I stopped loving acting for a very long time," she says. "My body was just like, this is what I'm meant to do, I love it so much, I need to find a way to do both, to be able to be an actress and be an activist at the same time so that's what I did."
Back in 2017, Silverstone talked with ET about Batman & Robin, specifically, her over-the-top costume and how it made her body appear.
"I was just like, didn't want to be in the suit. It was so uncomfortable," the actress recalled, adding that if she were to ever reprise her role, she'd like to see some changes in the wardrobe. "Maybe we can make the boobs a little smaller, they were massive… maybe tone down the nipples."
She also said she would welcome another shot at playing the crime-fighting heroine after the film was critically panned.
"I'd like to do it again," she surprisingly shared. "I think if I did it right now, I'd be a much better Batgirl."
Silverstone is of course still acting, and ET recently spoke with her about her new film, the dark comedy Bad Therapy. She also has a role in Netflix’s upcoming small screen adaptation of Ann M. Martin's popular book series, The Baby-Sitters Club. Still, it's her role as Cher in Clueless that continues to resonate deeply with her fans, and she reflected on filming the beloved Amy Heckerling-directed film.
"I don't think I was thinking about anything in the future when I was 18 years old," Silverstone told ET about whether she ever imagined the incredible success of the movie, which marks its 25th anniversary in July. "I had no idea. I just knew it was an exciting part and that Amy Heckerling was such a good filmmaker. I was really excited to take that on."
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