“Matilda” actress Mara Wilson spoke out about sexualization of children in Hollywood

Mara Wilson, the actress who played “Matilda” in 1996, revealed the difficulties she faced in her life and career after starring in the iconic film. In a recent interview with the British media The Guardian, Wilson, 35, recounted how fame and tragedy came into his life at the same time, since, while filming “Matilda”, his mother died of breast cancer. The actress explained that she felt lost and confused after the death of her mother. In addition, she confessed that, for her, it is impossible to be a child star and not suffer some kind of harm. Despite feeling safe on sets, Wilson witnessed inappropriate sexual comments and other questionable things in her environment, such as adults telling green jokes or sexually harassing. He also said that, at age 12, when he Googled, he found his photo on pornographic sites and edits of his face on other bodies. The actress said that this situation, added to the uncomfortable questions and pressures from the press, affected her deeply. Mara Wilson also noted that she felt she was “not up to the task” of her “Matilda” character, which led to some fans’ disappointment and pressures over her identity and physical appearance. The former child star now sees Hollywood pushing child actors too hard and questions how they are expected not to “fail” under those circumstances. Some people were disappointed that I wasn’t as smart, pretty, nice, as they expected. I think they expected it to be Matilda, and she’s wonderful, but she’s not real. She’s brilliant in every way,” he said. Then they met me, this nerdy and awkward teenager who sometimes got angry, but who could not channel her anger into powers, while Matilda’s anger allowed her to do telekinesis, Mara Wilson’s anger made her lose her friends (…). I was never going to live up to that,” he added. Despite moving away from Hollywood, Wilson says that the rejection still hurts, and that he came to relate the disappearance of his career with the idea that “if you are not cute, if you are not beautiful, then you are worthless.” Now she has become a writer, with essays such as “Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame” (2016), where she tackles topics such as how she first learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, how she lost her mother at a young age, how she got her first kiss on a canoe trip with celebrities, and how she wasn’t “cute” enough to make it in Hollywood.

Original source in Spanish