Since getting her start on the WB sitcom “Raising Dad” 24 years ago, Kat Dennings has seen it all.
In a recent conversation with People, Dennings discussed casting directors who were “very cruel” to her even at a young age.
“The time that I was auditioning and starting to act, it was a very different environment than it is now. There was not a lot of inclusivity at all,” Dennings said. “It was very harsh. There was a lot of extremely negative feedback and people would not hold back.”
She continued, “It was pretty crazy thinking about it. I’m like, ‘How can anyone say that about a little kid? This is insane.’ For example, I was 12. I’d go into an audition and I’d do it, and my manager would call me and I’d be like, ‘How’d it go?’ And they’d be like, ‘Well, they thought you weren’t pretty enough and you’re fat.’”
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Despite the negativity, Dennings said she kept a “very strong” outlook through it all and was encouraged by her family to ignore such comments.
“That was my attitude,” explained Dennings. “For some reason, it didn’t break my spirit. I was like, ‘I’ll show them.’ I guess props to my parents, because they were like, ‘They’re idiots. Don’t listen to them.’ And I was like, ‘They’re idiots, I’m not.’”
The “Shifting Gears” star said Hollywood has grown “much softer” and “kinder” since the era she came up in, which she described as “completely insane.”
“There’s body positivity, there’s inclusivity, there’s representation, and there was none of that before,” Dennings said. “It was really gross.”