I think it is really important to put out what you want so the world knows what to give you.
Elizabeth BanksYou always agree with other actor beforehand: Are we going to fake it or are you OK with me hitting you? I've never met an actor who doesn't want to really go there. I would be disappointed in myself if I was like "Don't hit me."
Elizabeth BanksThere's more empathetic representations than we're used to seeing. I honestly feel like in the early days of Hollywood, women did have those. Women had very traditional roles in society of wife and mother, but when they went to the movies, they got to see women be, like, really cool, amazing characters and femme fatales and all of this. And then there was just this systemic reaction where it was all about, "How do we make money?" And everybody wants to sell things to boys. And then women's entertainment became devalued in a way that I think is disrespectful and hurtful.
Elizabeth BanksI do want to work on a larger scale with bigger budgets partially as a way to prove that women can do that, for sure. I definitely feel a bit of a responsibility to do that.
Elizabeth BanksI'm very grateful to be in a position now where I have a lot more control to tell the stories I want to tell. I feel no obligation to tell any one story. I will tell you my interest mostly lies in telling stories about empowered women, but I don't feel it's an obligation. But I do feel like I am servicing a voice.
Elizabeth Banks