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Susan Sarandon: Hollywood marginalized me, but I couldn't remain silent about the genocide in Gaza

2026-09-05 18:06:22Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Susan Sarandon: Hollywood marginalized me, but I couldn't remain silent
Susan Sarandon

On the eve of her 80th birthday, Susan Sarandon returns to the screen with the film "The Echo Chamber" by director Andrea Pallaoro, which will be presented in competition at the Venice Film Festival.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the actress talks about cinema, freedom and her long career, but also about the consequences she has suffered in Hollywood due to her public stance on the war in Gaza.

The new film has a special meaning for Sarandon, as it is based on the last project that Bernardo Bertolucci had begun writing before his death in 2018. The actress had known the Italian director and remembers him with great admiration.

"When I was told that this was the last film Bernardo wanted to make, I felt very privileged, honored and excited," she says.

For Sarandon, the film "Il conformista" was the work that first showed her how far cinematographic art could go. "I had never seen anything like it. The visuals were so modern and beautiful. It remains a masterpiece," she emphasizes.

In “The Echo Chamber,” Sarandon plays Ava, a famous singer who is admired by the film’s protagonist. The character was partly inspired by Marianne Faithfull and gave the actress the opportunity to try out a role that was completely different from those she had played before.

However, away from the movie stage, Sarandon is facing a much more difficult reality. Her public stances against Israel's war in Gaza have cost her her career dearly.

The actress was separated from her powerful agency UTA and, according to her, continues to be excluded from various projects in the American film industry.

She does not hide that the breakdown of cooperation after about ten years has had serious consequences.

"I continue to be excluded from a lot of projects ," Sarandon admits, but adds that this experience has given her the opportunity to test her moral convictions.

"I could not remain silent in the face of a genocide, in the face of the murder of children. I, as a mother and as a human being, did not think twice ," says the actress. For her, the decision to speak out was not an easy choice from a professional point of view, but it was a moral obligation that she could not avoid.

Sarandon also sees this experience as a test of the limits of freedom in Hollywood. According to her, one doesn't truly understand whether one is free or not until one crosses a boundary and puts that freedom to the test.

She believes that responsibility for the climate created in the American industry should not be sought only from the artists who suffer the consequences, but from the people who make the decisions to exclude them.

"I know where I stand," Sarandon says. " Everyone has their own moment of truth and has to decide what's most important in their life and how they want to live with themselves. That's more important than a career," the actress emphasizes.

Her answer sounds like a summary of the entire philosophy she has followed throughout her public life. Sarandon has always been one of Hollywood's most independent figures and has not hesitated to take political positions, even when they have been at odds with the dominant climate in the film industry.

Her career took off in 1975 with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a film that has become a cultural phenomenon over the decades. According to Sarandon, its strength lies in its message of acceptance and freedom to be yourself.

The actress says she has repeatedly met people who have told her that the film has changed their lives. Some have written to her that it gave them the courage to accept themselves, while others have said that the film created a sense of a place where they finally felt accepted.

"Thelma & Louise," another of her career-defining films, had a similar impact. Sarandon recalls receiving letters from people who said the film helped them escape violent or oppressive situations.

After a career spanning more than five decades, she is aware of the price that a public stance can come with. But she doesn't seem ready to back down. For her, in the end, no success in Hollywood is worth more than personal convictions and the opportunity to live without betraying her conscience.


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