For an actor, it’s important to be able to move your face and express a wide range of emotions. Yes, this does seem like a bit of an obvious assertion, but apparently some industry bigwigs don’t really seem to grasp the idea of being able to convey certain feelings - something Doctor Who actor Jodie Whittaker found out the hard way.

Speaking on David Tennant’s podcast David Tennant Does A Podcast With…, Whittaker revealed that when she first started acting she was asked to dramatically change her look. 

“I’ve got an angry bum”, she told her former Broadchurch colleague of the deep frown line on her forehead. “I wouldn’t change it for the world and there are a lot of episodes where you’re squinting and I think if I didn’t have that frown line you wouldn’t know it was sunny.” She then revealed she was asked to get the line filled in after a camera test, but refused.

“Thank f**k I wasn’t that impressionable,” she quipped.

Whittaker also spoke about how she was asked to wax her moustache, even though she didn’t realise she had one herself. “It was translated to me from Hungarian, it was so funny,” she explained through laughter. “I said no, because I’d probably be allergic to the wax. Sorry, you’re just going to have to colour it in.”

Though Whittaker admits she has never been asked to lose weight, she acknowledged that she knows it happens to other actors and that men are not spared from criticism either.

As the first female Doctor says, she luckily felt able to refuse the requested changes. But there are likely other young women who will think their acting careers depend on being easygoing and saying agreeing to these somewhat extreme measures.

Hopefully, by speaking out, Whittaker will encourage others to stand up to those in power, asking actors to bend to a homogenised beauty standard.

Images: BBC, Getty Images