‘Succession’s Sarah Snook Reveals That a Film Producer Once Chastised Her for Eating Cake

It’s an excellent time to be Sarah Snook. The Australian actress is fresh off her second Golden Globes win for her role as Shiv Roy in HBO’s Succession, and is poised to take home an Emmy this weekend for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Snook currently stars in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray on London’s West End, where she plays all 26 roles in the one-woman show.

But like most women in the entertainment industry, Snook met with cruelty and mistreatment regarding her physical appearance. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the actress reveals that she was once chastised by a producer for eating a piece of cake.

“One particular day, I had the tiniest bit of chocolate cake,” Snook said, and an unnamed producer began berating her in front of the cast and crew of the production. Snook added that a costume designer defended her and advised her to keep enjoying the cake, “All the while I am dying inside.”

“The infantilizing of women, to not be able to make their own decisions, why would we do that to women?” Snook said. She shared another horror story about getting cast in a film where the casting director said, “We don’t really want you because you’re a nobody, but the director and the writer think you’re good for the role. 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.”

Of course, body shaming in Hollywood is nothing new. But it’s still wildly offensive and super demoralizing to read about Snook’s treatment. The joke is on those horrible people, however, because Snook is at the top of her game and she looks damn good doing it.

(featured image: HBO)