Rebel Wilson is ELLE’s May issue cover star - the pitch perfect (ahem) choice to front our inaugural beauty issue, out now.
The unstoppable Australian actress, who scooped the Rising Star Award at this year's ELLE Style Awards, was shot exclusively for ELLE by Doug Inglish.
Inside the issue, Rebel speaks candidly to ELLE’s Editor-in-Chief Lorraine Candy about self–belief, being a woman in Hollywood and her responsibility to her fans ahead of the release of her new film, Pitch Perfect 2, in April.
First coming to our attention in Bridesmaids in 2011, in just four short years, Rebel has carved out a career as one of Hollywood’s most in demand leading ladies but it was during less than conventional circumstances that she decided to pursue her love of acting: ‘I was in Mozambique [on a] trip. I caught malaria and the medicines caused a hallucination. I dreamt I won an Oscar for acting. I know it sounds stupid, but it was so real and I just knew then it would happen. When I came back, everyone was like: “Rebel, you can’t be an actress because you’re so smart,” but I was sure,” she recalls.
The 29-year-old actress also opens up about the travails of being a woman in the male-dominated sector of comedy:
‘How I see it is, I do two types of job: dream jobs like female-driven comedies and the other job, which is basically the boys' club. I have done three big movies with men – these are talented, strong-minded males, but you have to find a way to work that system. You aren’t being paid much and you start at a disadvantage with the script. Usually, you don’t have any cool jokes and you’re there to support the male actor.
She continues: ‘Those male roles are 90% written and formed by the time the filming starts but the female roles are only 20% there. It’s unfair, but I love being funny so I improve the role, work with the limited parameters and opportunities and maximise them.’
Sounds tough? It is.
‘If you are a woman in that situation you work harder, sharpen your skills more; you need to be two or three times as good as the guys. I just go in there and try and crush it.'
But as well as being the poster girl for comedy, Rebel’s beginning to flex her fashion wings now too, revealing that she feels a duty to her fans: ‘I am the type of girl with zero fashion sense but I am getting into it now. It’s becoming important for me. I saw a lot of girls were beginning to notice what I wear and I feel a kind of responsibility, because there aren’t any women in Hollywood my size and age.’
Plus, a girl after our own hearts, Rebel points out that it’s all about keeping fit: ‘You need to be physically strong for this job. I like to have the stamina to work 16 hours a day. I may eat a lot, but I am very healthy.’
Join the conversation with Rebel in this month’s ELLE using #BeMoreRebel.
See the full shoot and read our interview with Rebel Wilson only in the May 2015 issue of ELLE UK, out on newsstands and available via the Apple Newsstand now.
