Chloë Grace Moretz felt ‘infantilised’ by older men as a teen actor

The actor says she was often ‘shot down’ when trying to express her ideas

Joanna Whitehead
Tuesday 29 November 2022 14:21 GMT
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Chloë Grace Moretz has spoken of how she felt “infantilised” by “older men” in the film industry when she was a teenage actor.

The Kick-Ass star, who has been acting since the age of seven, opened up about her experiences of working with older men when she was young.

Speaking on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, the 25-year-old described being frequently “shot down” when she tried to express her ideas.

“It was always odd from my first leading role when I was 14 in Carrie… it was always really interesting to see who would be really unhappy with a young woman,” she began.

“At that point, I had already worked for so many years – almost 10 years – and as I continued through having more important roles on set as I grew up, it was always very interesting to see the pushback that I would get from a lot of people.”

She continued: “The majority of it was older men for sure who would infantilise me. If I had real things to bring to the table, a lot of the time it would get shot down.”

The Suspiria actor added that there was often a “power struggle” on set when she was the lead actor, but still only a teenager.

“Having to even advocate to an older man on behalf of your 14, 15, 16-year-old self is a really, really crazy kind of mind f**k,” she said.

Moretz also talked about the importance of boundaries in her life, stating that she “didn’t grow up with any boundaries”.

“I learned a lot of my boundaries in life and what I want in my friendships and what I want in my relationships… I think boundaries are super important,” she said.

“And part of realising your boundaries and actually enforcing your boundaries is speaking your truth without blame or judgement to people.”

She added that “boundaries are a new thing for me. I didn't grow up with any boundaries.

“I didn't learn any boundaries in my life and I got hit like a tonne of bricks multiple times and I was like, 'You know what'? I think I need to learn this thing called boundaries.”

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