Heather Graham Calls Out the Sexism During Her Hollywood Career

Heather Graham is speaking out on sexism in Hollywood.

The actress—who rose to fame in the ‘80s and ‘90s by starring in films including License to Drive, Drugstore Cowboy, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Boogie Nights—recently called out some unnamed movies made in the late 20th century as being sexist, telling People that were was wasn't much criticism back then over the content.

"No one really thought about it or commented on it," she said in an interview published April 7. "At that point, people thought they were being really evolved and now we look back and go, 'Whoa, that was so sexist.' I'm glad that we are growing as a culture."

Even in her own career, Heather noted feeling like she was "a supporting character in a man's story."

"I wasn't always going, 'What do I want?' I was going, 'How do I people please someone else?'" she told the outlet. "My journey has been to get more clear on what I want and go after that."

Though the 53-year-old acknowledged how society has changed throughout the years, she remains unimpressed with how little progress has been made in Hollywood itself.

"I feel like nothing has changed drastically," she added. "More people care, but it's not suddenly equal. It's still pretty sexist, to be honest. Every phase of the business, whether it's financing, distribution, the reviewers, all those people are mostly men."

She also notes that "it's not that easy" for "a female driven story" catering to female audiences to find its way through "all these levels of male dominated business."

However, as more women continue to work in the industry, Heather is hopeful of better days to come.

"The most inspiring thing to me is to see a lot of female writers, directors, and that's something that I'm starting to do," she said. "I really like hearing female voices because I think we learn a lot about the world from the movies and TV that we watch. If we're always being told stories from just a male point of view, that doesn't help women."