Rosanna Arquette Lands Recurring Role on Ryan Murphy and Sarah Paulson’s Ratched
Arquette has said she was "blackballed" after rejecting Harvey Weinstein's advances in the '90s.
On Monday, Sarah Paulson took to Instagram to share her excitement at Rosanna Arquette’s joining the cast of Paulson and Ryan Murphy‘s upcoming Netflix series Ratched. But her enthusiasm went far beyond that of a producer who’s landed a talented, BAFTA-winning actor in a new show: As Paulson explained in her caption, she was determined to offer Arquette a role after learning of the hardships she’s faced in Hollywood since rejecting Harvey Weinstein’s alleged advances in the early 1990s, then publicly calling out the disgraced producer in 2017.
“The story of Rosanna Arquette is a triumphant one—but it’s also disturbing. She was one of the first women to publicly speak out about Harvey Weinstein. I was stirred by several of her recent interviews where she was quoted as saying she couldn’t find work—or representation—this seems a direct consequence of her bravery,” Paulson captioned a photo of Arquette, noting that she and Murphy “decided this could not stand.” “There will be a multi-episode arc for this extraordinary actress,” she continued. “I am thrilled to be in a position, due to the empowerment of my friend and collaborator, Ryan Murphy, not to just act in a piece, but hire the talent showcased in it, as well.”
In response, Arquette commented on Paulson’s post, “Oh dear I’m on the side of the road in the rain seeing this my gratitude and big love to both you and Ryan.” In a follow-up message, she added, “Making me cry also !!!”
Arquette, 59, shared her experience with Weinstein’s alleged decades-long history of sexual misconduct in the original bombshell report in The New Yorker in 2017. In the article, she described how, after rejecting his advances in a hotel room, her career suffered. “He made things very difficult for me for years,” she said, adding that she’d stayed silent for years due to his reputation for vindictiveness and his breadth of power in Hollywood.
In January, Arquette said coming forward with her accusations more than a year prior had actually sparked further backlash. “I don’t have an agent, so… I think there’s backlash for sure,” she told Variety ahead of the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Untouchable, a documentary about the Weinstein scandal. “There’s a lot of people that made a lot of money from him, and continue to. There’s a boys club that protects the boys.”
It’s unknown what recurring role Arquette will take on in Ratched. In fact, while Sharon Stone, Cynthia Nixon, Finn Wittrock, Hunter Parrish, and Corey Stoll, among several others, have all officially joined the cast, the only confirmed role is Paulson’s: She’ll play the titular Nurse Ratched in the show, which charts the backstory of the diabolical nurse from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and which has already received a two-season, 18-episode order from Netflix.
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