Parker Posey knows the pitfalls of being an indie darling.
The rising ‘Party Girl’ star recalled being pigeonholed as an independent actress early in her career, leading her to lose lead roles to Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts, among other stars. Posey said Vogue who auditioned for “Speed” before the part went to Bullock, and also shared that her agent told her she was “too indie.”
“Nothing good was really being offered to me,” Posey said of the early 2000s after his iconic turn in “Scream 3.” “I used to audition for all these great parts that ended up going to bigger names like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock.”
She added that she asked her agent at the time, “‘Can’t I be Matt Damon’s ex-wife in two or three scenes of an action movie?’ I was never going to get those either. I asked what the feedback was and my agent said, “They say you’re too indie.”
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The label also affected Posey’s status on Broadway after the 2012 Yale Repertory Theater producers recast Posey with Marisa Tomei after the production transferred to Broadway.
“It wasn’t a very happy time,” the ‘Beau Is Afraid’ star said. “But, hey, that’s how the industry works.”
Throughout his decade-long career, Posey has cited inspiration from working with Nora Ephron, despite being cut from “Sleepless in Seattle” before collaborating with Ephron on “Mixed Nuts” and “You’ve Got Mail.”
“Nora has been so supportive,” Posey said. “She told me I was a ‘talented comedian’, that I’d never been called before.”
Posey reflected on the heyday of the “punk” era of independent cinema, including his role in “The House of Yes.”
“I was lucky because in a culture moment you could do Off Broadway and afford your own $700 a month apartment,” Posey said The New York Times in February 2023. “And you could do independent films: ‘It’s only 22 days, yes, I will.’ It was kind of like punk rock or like being in a band. Everyone dated and it was very organic. It was a little pocket of time that didn’t last that long.
