Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany Will Not Wax Her Mustache for You, Hollywood

Tatiana Maslany is currently being lauded as one of the most talented actresses currently on television - or maybe anywhere, for that matter. The 29-year-old star of Orphan Black just got her first Emmy nomination for playing anywhere between 3 and 6+ clones on any given episode, and pretty much everyone is obsessed with her ability to disappear into each role seamlessly. However, it seems that even despite her acclaimed abilities as an actress, Hollywood still has other ideas about what kind of standards she should be meeting. In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Tatiana railed against the extensive and inappropriate examples of sexism she's faced as an actress. She claims she "can't even name the number of times" she's 'personally experienced sexism working in Hollywood' and that she doesn't believe there are any women in the industry who haven't experienced sexism. Judging from this interview alone, that's no exaggeration.

"Like being told, 'Let's not talk about that, sweetheart,' if I have an issue with being hit on by a 50-year-old when I was 17 and on set...It's never ending. Being put into this little outfit that showed my midriff in a scene where I'm supposed to be grieving the death of a family member, and it's like, 'Make sure that her belly button is showing' – it's just pathetic. It's so pathetic." 

As far as being asked to alter her appearence for roles it seems like body hair is a major target, as she was once asked to shave her armpits. 

"And wax my mustache, which I refused to do! I'll do it if the part calls for it and it makes sense."

It also seems like she doesn't always win.

"Sometimes it's not worth being political about it. There's a point where I have to separate my own political values versus the character I'm playing."

However, despite what she's had to go through, Tatiana believes that there is a change on its way.

"I can't imagine that it's going to stay stuck like this. I hope not! People are too upset, people are too pissed off and too many strong voices are now being heard...There is a big shift happening, and I think we are at the messy puberty stages of it right now, but I hope that at some point it becomes the default that every racial group has their own stories that are being told that aren't stereotypical."

Tatiana's right - it's way past time for Hollywood to alter this attitude. And until it does, we applaud and support the women who are risking their careers to openly fight these constant, endlessly unfair standards.

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