Elizabeth Banks Is Now Getting Offered Lead Roles After Being Seen as the 'Comic Relief' for Years
Elizabeth Banks is living proof that it gets get greater later!
The Pitch Perfect star, 50, admitted she's only now getting offered leading roles in projects after spending years as Hollywood's go-to comedic actress.
"It's really only been in my second life as an actress here that I've started playing the lead role," Banks, who is playing a doctor plagued with scandal in the new movie A Mistake, explained in a recent interview. "It's because I was a great ingenue for a long time. I played the lady in many movies to some great leading men and then I had smaller roles in huge movies like The Hunger Games and Pitch Perfect, but never quite that DC or Marvel movie lead."
Although the blonde beauty was aware of her talent to make people laugh, she felt boxed in by what others allowed her to do. "I'm often given more comic relief parts," she noted. "So, to have this offer felt like, wow, I'm going to be in every scene of this film, playing a character that's very good at their job, it's all very serious."
In her latest flick, centered around a medical physician who allows a fellow doctor to take over for a surgery that goes wrong, Banks did extensive research to get herself in the headspace of someone with intense responsibilities. "I'm somebody who puts a lot of faith in doctors, and this was a reminder of how human doctors are," the Charlie's Angels star said of the movie's message.
"They have bad days and off days, and days of learning, and days where their confidence is low. So, I just felt like that was a fascinating idea, just that this could and does happen," she pointed out.
While Banks has relished in her new life as first on the call sheet, she's not done proving herself and what she can do. "I'm just grateful to have a job I really enjoy doing. I love telling stories. I feel like the thing I'm most proud of, besides my marriage and my family, is the fact that I built trust and a relationship with audiences over this long period. And people know they're going to be entertained by me. So, I really want to continue making interesting and quality stuff," the funny lady noted.
"But I also want to continue to surprise the industry and myself, so no one can just check a box and say, 'Oh, this is an Elizabeth Banks thing.' I hope lots of people think lots of different things could be an 'Elizabeth Banks thing,'" Banks made clear.
People conducted the interview with Banks.