Diane Kruger opens up about ‘inappropriate’ screen test for Brad Pitt’s Troy: ‘I felt like meat’

Maanya Sachdeva
·2 min read
Diane Kruger portraying Helen in 2004’s ‘Troy’ (Warner Bros.)
Diane Kruger portraying Helen in 2004’s ‘Troy’ (Warner Bros.)

Diane Kruger has detailed the “inappropriate and uncomfortable” screen test she underwent during the casting process for Troy.

The German-born actor revealed that she has “definitely come across the Weinsteins” of Hollywood during a recent screening for her forthcoming show Swimming with Sharks at the Variety SXSW Studio.

She plays a ruthless movie executive in the eponymously named television reboot of the 1994 Hollywood film, which was directed by George Huang and starred Kevin Spacey.

Kruger, who portrayed Helen in Troy, said auditioning for Wolfgang Peterson’s 2004 historical drama in full costume for the “studio head” made her feel “like meat”.

She told Variety: “I remember testing for Troy and having to go to the studio head in costume. And I felt like meat, being looked up and down and was asked, ‘Why do you think you should be playing this?’”

“I think when I first started out, it just felt like this is what it’s like. This is what Hollywood is like,” she continued, adding: “Also I come from modelling and, believe me, they have their moments.”

Kruger declined to name the Warner Bros studio executive who asked her to come in for a screen test.

The Independent has reached out to Kruger’s representatives for comment.

Kruger played Helen of Troy in the 2004 film, also starring Brad Pitt as Achilles (IMAGENET)
Kruger played Helen of Troy in the 2004 film, also starring Brad Pitt as Achilles (IMAGENET)

Shooting for her role in the female-centric retelling of Swimming with Sharks made Kruger reflect on “how disgusting and acceptable bad behaviour was at a certain time in our society, not just Hollywood”, the 45-year-old admitted.

“The vulnerability of this character, combined with this excessive abuse of power, was really intriguing to me,” Kruger explained.

The actor is set to reinterpret Spacey’s role in the original movie.

After he was accused by multiple people of inappropriate sexual conduct in 2017, Spacey’s character in House of Cards was written out of the hit Netflix series. The disgraced actor was ordered to pay $31m (£23m) to the show’s producers MRC for violating their sexual harassment policy.

Season one of Swimming with Sharks is scheduled for release on Roku, and all episodes will be available for streaming on 15 April.

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