Diane Kruger Revealed She 'Felt Like Meat' During 'Troy' Screen Test

Diane Kruger, known for her early role as Helen of Spartan in "Troy," shared some of her less than pleasant times on the film set. The actress is one among hordes of entertainers to successfully switch from a career on the runway to one on a movie set.

The mother of one starred in a number of movies before getting her big break on the "Troy" set beside A-list actors like Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. Her newest tv show is "Swimming With Sharks," a thriller series where Kruger acts as a cut-throat movie executive.

In her recent interview, the 45-year-old talked about one of her most uncomfortable moments in the movie industry. She mentioned a particular incident where she had to go over to the studio head while still in her costume and how she "felt like meat" while doing it.

Kruger's major breaking point in her career was her role as Helen in the 2004 movie "Troy." Now almost 20 years later, Kruger is opening up to her time on the "Troy" set, and it's not as great as we'd hoped.

In her talk with Variety in the SXSW studio, the actress revealed that she had her share of "Weinsteins' of the movie industry" over the years. She recalled, "I remember testing for 'Troy' and having to go to the studio head in costume. And I felt like meat, being looked up and down and was asked, 'Why do you think you should be playing this?'"

According to industry insiders, wearing a costume to an interview with an executive isn't the most common occurrence. They told Variety that screen tests were often just filmed and reviewed by the studio leadership and producers.

While Kruger refused to reveal the name of the Warner Bros studio executive that asked for her, she went on to detail some of her most difficult moments in the industry.

The "Swimming With the Sharks" actress went on to reveal that she was "put in situations that were so inappropriate and uncomfortable." "I think when I first started out, it just felt like, this is what it's like," she continued. "This is what Hollywood is like. Also, I come from modeling and believe me, they have their moments."

Kruger started modeling in the 1990s after an unfortunate knee injury cut her ballet dreams short. By 1993 she was the Germany representative for the Elite Model Look, after which her career on the runway kicked off.

The "Troy" actress walked runways for brands like Marc Jacobs, D&G, and Sonia Rykiel and appeared on Marie Claire, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan magazine covers. By 2002 Kruger successfully switched to acting with her film debut in "The Piano Player." She starred in some other movies before bagging her role as Helen of Sparta in the "Troy" epic.

Despite her grievances about her time on set, Kruger revealed that she was grateful to the film because it "launched her." In a 2005 interview with The Times, she said, "Hey, Troy launched me. It put me on the map."

She also highlighted the more challenging aspects of the acting industry. The former model called the American entertainment industry "cruel" and revealed that for actresses to bag whatever roles, they had to look a certain way and "fit in their little boxes."

Kruger said, "I think the American industry is a cruel, cruel world. To get on, you have to have a certain physique, and you have to be able to fit in their little boxes. It's difficult to get parts because they go to the same actresses." She then revealed that the actresses were Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts.

Kruger's recent tv appearance is in a thriller series titled "Swimming with Sharks." Her character is a steel-edged movie executive with a rather cut-throat way of doing business. A scene showed her character being sexually exploited by her boss, who was on his deathbed. The ailing mogul, played by Donald Sutherland, asked Kruger's character to perform a sexual act on his nurse, which she obliged.

When talking about that scene to Variety, the actress likened the situation to how perverse and accepting society was of bad behavior at a certain point. Kruger added, "What really drew me to this part is that it is the Hollywood of 2022. So women have careers; they put their families or their desires on the back burner."

She continued, "What does that mean once you are in a position of power? How do you complete your life? The vulnerability of this character, combined with this excessive abusive power, was really intriguing to me." All the "Swimming With Sharks" episodes will be released on the Roku channel come April 15.