Mighty Aphrodite actress Mira Sorvino reveals Harvey Weinstein ‘stifled’ her career

Mira Sorvino says she "stopped being a viable movie actress" after spurning Harvey Weinstein. Photo / AP

Warning: Mention of sexual harassment

Mira Sorvino grew emotional as she discussed how Harvey Weinstein “stifled” her career.

The 56-year-old star was inundated with offers after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1996 for her work on Mighty Aphrodite, but after she “rejected” the disgraced movie mogul for “the third time”, she struggled to land jobs and was no longer a “viable movie actress”.

Speaking on a panel at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut, People magazine reports she said: “When I was nominated versus won, there were clauses in my contracts that were present at the time that ‘if she wins, she gets this ...’ But I definitely got more money because I made US$10,000 ($16,433) for the film I won the Oscar for. I moved into a different echelon at that point.

“For me, it was definitely an upgrade in terms of scripts being offered, but I was basically not known before.

“I mean, it was my 10th film, but I wasn’t a household name. I had some press on a few different projects, like Quiz Show and Barcelona, but people didn’t really know who I was. So it turned me through that Oscar season into a known actress rather than an unknown actress.”

Mira Sorvino is one of dozens of actresses and other Hollywood workers who have accused director Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. Photo / Getty Images

“For a time, I had a lot of wonderful offers and then, my career was stifled by Harvey Weinstein. So, I stopped doing [major] studio movies after 1998.”

Growing tearful as she noted in 1998 she “rejected him the third time”, Sorvino apologised to the audience and added: “I stopped being a viable movie actress.

“I still did indies and I still did television, but that was very hard.”

The Shining Vale actress “didn’t know at the time what was happening” to her career, but she claimed work offers had stopped.

“It became, you know, a sort of feeling like fate was just not going on my side, but it was going to be just a matter of time till I was gonna get back my status.”

But Sorvino, who has four children with husband Christopher Backus, admitted her focus has shifted away from her career and she doesn’t find value in “being a famous actress”.

“But then, I got married. I became a mother. I became a UN Goodwill Ambassador in Human Trafficking, [which has] just been a huge part of my life. It’s a position I’ve held since 2009, officially.

“But yeah, my family. My family is my everything and I don’t see my worth as being a famous actress. I see my worth as being a good person.”

Weinstein, 70, was jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020 following multiple accusations. His sentence was later increased by 16 years.