Kristen Stewart Says “Actresses Get Treated Like S***,” People Started “Talking To Me Like I’m Somebody With A Brain” After Directing

Kristen Stewart is speaking up about the stigma of being an actress while promoting her new movie “The Chronology of Water,” as the psychological thriller stars Imogen Poots (recently joined the cast of Michael Fassbender‘s new Joe Kennedy Sr. series at Netflix). As she’s detailing how she hasn’t been taken seriously for her intelligence until becoming a director, pointing out the discrimination actresses experience.

Speaking with The Times of London, Stewart said, “Actresses get treated like s***, I’ve got to tell you. People think anyone could be an actress, but the first time I sat down to talk about my movie as a director, I thought, wow, this is a different experience. They are talking to me like I’m somebody with a brain.”

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The seasoned actress turned filmmaker added, “There’s this idea that directors have otherworldly abilities, which is not true. It’s an idea perpetuated by men. Not to sound like I’m complaining all the time, but it’s worse for female actors than male ones; they get treated like puppets, but they are not. Imogen [Poots] put her whole body and soul into this movie.”

You may be aware that Stewart’s acting career (despite being a young lady) started back in the late 1990s and had a breakout role opposite Oscar-winner Jodie Foster in the 2002 David Fincher-directed home invasion thriller “Panic Room” before striking out on her own with the “Twilight” franchise (often the target of ridicule), with other feature credits including the sci-fi surivial flick “Underwater,” “Seberg,” “Spencer,” “Crimes of The Future,” “Still Alice,” “The Runaways” and “Love Lies Bleeding.”

She’s obviously seen and experienced plenty of things working in the industry over the decades and hasn’t developed that sentiment out of the blue. We can’t wait to see what Stewart directs next and how audiences react to her new film.

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“The Chronology of Water” debuted last month domestically with an early February release in the United Kingdom. Also, you can read The Playlist’s review for Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut right here, which hails our coverage of last year’s Cannes Film Festival.