As British actress Kate Beckinsale told it last Friday on “The Graham Norton Show,” “Pearl Harbor” director Michael Bay repeatedly put her down for her looks and her weight while filming and later promoting the 2001 World War II flick.
“I don’t think I fitted the type of actress Michael Bay, the director, had met before,” DigitalSpy.com quoted Ms. Beckinsale. “I think he was baffled by me because my boobs weren’t bigger than my head and I wasn’t blonde.”
Ms. Beckinsale went on to say that in press junkets promoting the film that, “when he was asked about me, he’d say, ’Kate wasn’t so attractive that she would alienate the female audience.’ “
Ms. Beckinsale currently stars in the critically-acclaimed comedy “Love and Friendship,” based on a Jane Austen story. Rotten Tomatoes shows 99 percent of critics loved it. By contrast, Mr. Bay’s “Pearl Harbor” scored a meager 25 percent approval rating.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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