Meghan Markle described the discomfort she felt during her time as an actor in Hollywood, in an interview with Variety.
Markle appeared on shows such as ‘Deal or No Deal’, ‘90210’ and ‘Fringe’, before landing her signature role of Rachel Zane on ‘Suits’, the television legal drama, in 2011. Although she featured on the show for more than 108 episodes (‘Suits’ ran from 2011 to 2019), Markle was forever living in a state of anxiety, which made her constantly question her place on the series during the first season.
When asked about Hollywood toxicity during her time as an actor, Meghan said: “We didn’t have a name for it at that time. There were just certain things that were accepted. If there was any discomfort, you just dealt with it. It forced a lot of women to live with this idea of staying silent, not being disruptive, not giving voice to the things that might create concern or discomfort.”
She continued, describing how hard it was for her to land a steady job. “For me, I had tried for so long to land on a show, filming all these pilots, wondering if they would get picked up,” she said.
“All of Season 1 on ‘Suits’, I was convinced I was going to get recast. All the time. It got to a point where the creator was like, ‘Why are you so worried about this?’,” Meghan recalled.
In the same interview, she also made it clear that she doesn’t intend to return to acting.
“No. I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not,” she said.
And, what if one of her kids came to her at 15 and expressed their wish to become an actor?
“I would say, “Great!” When you become a parent, you genuinely want your kids to find the things that bring them complete joy. They’re our kids, obviously, and they’re part of a legacy and a tradition and a family that will have other expectations. But I want them to be able to carve out their own path. If it’s the entertainment industry, great. And also, good luck. There are so many people that will talk about what opened the door for my children. But it still takes talent and a lot of grit. We’re creating multidimensional, interesting, kind, creative people. That’s who our kids are,” she said.
