Anna Kendrick slams director who embarrassed her on movie set in front of 100 extras

Anna Kendrick speaking with Josh Horowitz about the film Woman of the Hour on October 22 in New York City. Photo / Getty Images

Hollywood actress Anna Kendrick has detailed one of the more awkward on-camera experiences she’s had as a podcast interviewer probed her on what the worst feedback given to her by a director was.

Kendrick, who recently directed the Netflix film Woman of the Hour, made an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s podcast Happy Sad Confused. The host asked the Pitch Perfect actress whether she felt comfortable sharing more about a time on set when a director had given her bad feedback.

Kendrick had a particular story in mind, telling Horowitz and the audience about an ordeal she had with an unnamed director on an unknown film and how she ended up having the last laugh.

“I remember a director once, in a room full of 100 extras or something being like, ‘Hey, on this next one just try something. Just make something up. Just improv something’,” Kendrick said.

“And I did it and then the director called cut and came over and, once again in front of 100 extras, was like, ‘Oof, let’s go back to the script!’”

“It really felt like a very specific power move thing to embarrass me, to gain dominance. It was very icky,” she added.

“And then the thing that I improved ended up in the trailer. So f*** you!” Kendrick said, drawing claps from the audience.

Woman of the Hour is Kendrick’s latest feature film. As lead actress and director, it also marks her directorial debut.

The film follows the real-life story of serial killer Rodney Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto), who appeared on a dating show in the 1970s amid a years-long murder spree.

Kendrick plays Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress who makes it onto the game show. She eventually wins a date with Alcala yet remains oblivious to his killer tendencies.

In a separate interview, the A Simple Favour actress shared how a comment made about her when she was younger inspired a certain eerie scene in her new movie.

“There’s this scene at the beginning where I’m in a casting office, and I stole little things from my real life,” Kendrick explained on The View.

“There’s a moment where they ask me if I do nudity and they make this really weird specific comment about my body that’s lifted verbatim from a thing that happened to me when I was 19.”

In the scene in question, Bradshaw tells the room she isn’t comfortable with nudity, which prompts one of the casting directors to say, “I’m sure they’re fine,” as he stares at her chest.

“It’s funny in the movie. We can all laugh at my humiliation,” Kendrick said. “That’s funny. We’re allowed.”