Bryce Dallas Howard says she will no longer talk about her body after being asked to lose weight for roles

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By stefan armitage

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Bryce Dallas Howard says she is "retiring" any and all conversation about her body after being asked to lose weight for roles.

Despite being one of the most talented individuals in the movie industry - both as an actor and director - the 42-year-old star has still found herself facing one of the most disgusting challenges many people face: body shaming.

In an interview with the Metro in 2022, the Jurassic World star revealed that movie bosses wanted her to lose weight for her role in the franchise's third installment.

Howard, who portrays Dinosaur Protection Group leader Claire Dearing in the trilogy, claimed that it was director Colin Trevorrow who leaped to her defense and rejected these demands from unidentified film executives.

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Bryce Dallas Howard attends the World Premiere of Argylle. Credit: Samir Hussein / Getty

Speaking to the publication about Trevorrow's firm stance, she said: "On the third movie, it was actually because there were so many women cast, it was something that Colin felt very strongly about in terms of protecting me… Because the conversation came up again, 'we need to ask Bryce to lose weight.'"

Now, Howard has had enough of talking about her body.

In an interview with PEOPLE, the star says: "I've retired talking about my body. My focus is on what my body is doing, what my body is capable of."

She added that she will only be cast in future projects for her talents - rather than how she looks - saying: "What I found was best is to just be in communication with folks early in the hiring process.

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Bryce Dallas Howard will no longer negotiate over her body. Credit: Rich Fury / Getty

"What I would say is that, 'If you want to cast me, awesome. But if you think you want to cast me, but 20 pounds less me or 40 pounds less me, that's actually another actor. That's not me, and I'm not going to shame you in this moment about this. We need to have a real conversation here because if you're hiring me, you're hiring me.'"

This certainly isn't the first time Howard has spoken out about injustices she's faced in the movie industry.

Back in 2018, reports surfaced claiming that Howard was paid $2 million less than co-star Chris Pratt for their roles in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

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Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. Credit: Variety / Getty

Variety reported at the time that Pratt was paid $10 million for his leading role in the movie - with Howard being paid $8 million.

However, Howard later told Insider that she was actually paid "so much less".

"The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less. When I started negotiating for Jurassic, it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies, and so your deals are set," she said.

Fortunately, Howard revealed that Pratt had her back, adding: "What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn't been already negotiated."

Dallas is currently starring in Argylle, which is in theaters now.

Featured image credit: Han Myung-Gu / Getty