Minnie Driver in her recent interview exposed the producers of 1998 movie Hard Rain. She claims that they did not allow her to wear a wetsuit because “they wanted to see her ni-ples“.
Hard Rain Producers Denied Minnie Driver From Wearing Wetsuit
Christian Slater and Minnie Driver in Hard Rain (1998). Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Minnie Driver was 28 at the time of Hard Rain filming. In the film, she played the role of Karen, opposite Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, and Randy Quaid.
The Good Will Hunting actress during her recent appearance on Jameela Jamil’s I Weigh podcast, opened up about how she was denied wearing a wetsuit. She revealed:
“It’s set during this massive storm, there were huge rain machines. We shot crazy hours. It was tough,” Driver told Jamil. “Everybody else could wear a wetsuit underneath their costume, and I was told by the producers that I couldn’t because they wanted to see my ni-ples, and that there was no point in having the wet t-shirt if you couldn’t have what was underneath it.”
“And it was very kind of plainly told, like, ‘You are an idiot if you don’t understand that this is what’s going on.’ And I remember saying, ‘This is wrong.’”
Then she also added that she was “punished” for complaining that matter.
“I remember calling my agent. I then remember it being like, boy, people wouldn’t speak to me on the set. I was so punished for it.”
However she did not name any producer in particular. Driver earned some fame following the 1995 film Circle of Friends. And then she starred in classics such as The Riches, Speechless and Big Night. Her performance in Good Will Hunting earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Minnie Driver Almost Lost Good Will Hunting Role
Matt Damon and Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting (1997). Image Credit: Miramax Pictures
Minnie Driver’s role of Skylar in Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. But she almost lost the role. Reason? The producers did not find her appealing for the role. Producer Harvey Weinstein believed “nobody would want to f-ck her.” (via Variety)
“I remember feeling so devastated until I realized, ‘Hold on, just consider the source for a minute. That is an unutterable pig — why on earth are you worried about this f*** saying that you are not sexy?’” Minnie recalled to The Telegraph.
“But there are ramifications of that: that maybe I am not going to be hired because people don’t think I have the sexual quality that is required,” she added.
Weinstein was not the only one to say things like that to her during the casting of the film. In an interview with The Cut, Driver revealed another producer treated her the same.
“To be told at 26 that you’re not sexy when you maybe just got over all your teenage angst, and started to think, you know, ‘Maybe in the right light and the right shoes and the right dress, I’m all right,’” Driver said. “When a producer — a man or woman or nonbinary person — distills an actor down to what they perceive as their s-xiness, it’s so dismissive of that person.”
The film starrs Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård. It earned numerous nominations and won two Academy Awards, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams. The movie was made at a budget of just $10 million but it became a huge success grossing $225.9 at the box office worldwide.
Stream Good Will Hunting on Netflix and Hard Rain on Prime Video.
