{"id":2510422,"date":"2026-07-21T03:49:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T03:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2510422"},"modified":"2026-07-21T03:49:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T03:49:19","slug":"geena-davis-said-she-was-told-she-wasnt-attractive-enough-to-star-in-fletch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/geena-davis-said-she-was-told-she-wasnt-attractive-enough-to-star-in-fletch\/","title":{"rendered":"Geena Davis said she was told she wasn\u2019t attractive enough to star in \u201cFletch\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 safari:ml-6 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Geena Davis recalls auditioning for the 1985 movie <em>Fletch<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 safari:ml-6 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <em>Beetlejuice<\/em> actress said she&#8217;d hoped for the lead female role but was told she wasn&#8217;t attractive enough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 safari:ml-6 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Still, filmmakers thought she was funny, which landed her a smaller role in the Chevy Chase comedy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Geena Davis;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/geena-davis\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Geena Davis<\/a> recalls being told that she wasn&#8217;t leading lady material because she wasn&#8217;t pretty enough. Really.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It happened when she tried out for a part in the 1985 Chevy Chase comedy <em>Fletch<\/em>, which costarred Tim Matheson, Joe Don Baker, M. Emmet Walsh, and, as leading lady Gail Stanwyk, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I originally auditioned for the lead female character. I&#8217;m pretty sure they said, &#8216;You&#8217;re not attractive enough to play that part,'&#8221; Davis told Dax Shepard on Monday&#8217;s episode of his <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Armchair Expert;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BKGXUHP-STQ\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Armchair Expert<\/em><\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Davis added that she was &#8220;wearing my hair all curly and weird.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Still, the <em>Fletch<\/em> filmmakers were impressed with the actress whose credits included the movie <em>Tootsie<\/em> and episodes of TV shows such as <em>Family Ties<\/em>, <em>Knight Rider<\/em>, and a short-lived sitcom in which she starred called <em>Sara.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;&#8216;We think you&#8217;re so funny,'&#8221; they told Davis. &#8220;&#8216;We want you in the movie.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Richard Libertini, Chevy Chase, and Geena Davis star in &#8216;Fletch&#8217;<br \/>Credit: Universal<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Davis ended up taking on a &#8220;really small&#8221; part. But it was fun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;So they said, &#8216;Oh, but there&#8217;s this part of the morgue chief, whose name is Larry, but we&#8217;ll change it to a female for you,'&#8221; Davis recalled. &#8220;And I said, &#8216;But I still want to be Larry.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In fact, Shepard, who&#8217;s a big fan of the film, said &#8220;it made it very memorable that you were Larry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shepard asked if Chase had been grouchy \u2014 he had a reputation of being so in the &#8217;80s \u2014 while making the comedy hit about an investigative reporter working undercover to expose a drug ring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;No, he wasn&#8217;t. Not at all,&#8221; Davis said. &#8220;He might have really enjoyed that movie or something because he seemed fun and funny and chill and great. He seemed great.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Davis \u2014 who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1988&#8217;s <em>The Accidental Tourist<\/em> \u2014 went on to play leading roles in movies such as <em>The Fly<\/em> in 1986 and <em>A League of Their Own <\/em>in 1992. That same year, she was nominated for Best Actress for her performance in 1991&#8217;s <em>Thelma &amp; Louise<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Off screen, she&#8217;s the founder of the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Geena Davis Institute;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/geenadavisinstitute.org\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Geena Davis Institute<\/a>, a nonprofit championing equitable representation in media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hear her full conversation with Shepard above.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Entertainment Weekly;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/geena-davis-said-she-was-told-she-wasnt-attractive-enough-for-fletch-12023372\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Geena Davis recalls auditioning for the 1985 movie Fletch. The Beetlejuice actress said she&#8217;d hoped for the lead female role but was told she wasn&#8217;t attractive enough. Still, filmmakers thought she was funny, which landed her a smaller role in the Chevy Chase comedy. Geena Davis recalls being told that she wasn&#8217;t leading [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2510423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[495161,346890,314108,349165,384743,373008,495163,495162,347807],"class_list":["post-2510422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-beetlejuice-actress","tag-chevy-chase","tag-dax-shepard","tag-geena-davis","tag-joe-don-baker","tag-leading-lady","tag-m-emmet-walsh","tag-movie-tootsie","tag-tim-matheson"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Geena-Davis-said-she-was-told-she-wasnt-attractive-enough.com2Fen2Fentertainment_weekly_7852Fbbb6c41c9412e3e95ea8f6269cdd6fea.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2510422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2510424,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510422\/revisions\/2510424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2510423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2510422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2510422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2510422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}