The Rookie star Melissa O’Neil has candidly spoken about her career in a new interview
The Rookie star Melissa O’Neil broke down as she made a heartbreaking admission.
The actress, who plays Lucy Chen in the hit police drama, appeared on Tommy DiDario’s I’ve Never Said This Before podcast on Tuesday (May 21), where she spoke about the effect of societal and industry pressure.
“In this industry there is so much concern with our bodies that you are not immune to [understanding that] there are certain things that are ‘desirable’ and certain things that are not,” she said.
“I have gone through so much fluctuation in eight years [on The Rookie]. It’s a journey. People treat you differently when you look different ways.”
Melissa went on to reveal that the conversation was “making me tear up a bit”, as she realised she wanted “to be someone who says, ‘I love my body'”.
She continued: “It’s been through a lot with me and it’s carried me and it’s so strong.
“It’s so funny to me how many women and men have this crazy experience to live in western society that has so much focus on this part but they don’t regard it as your sacred animal but more so a commodity to profit from.”
“It’s so strange being an actress. You’re a commodity,” Melissa candidly revealed.
“As I was getting ready for the Upfronts I spent a whole week becoming a really pretty pony for it – it’s this whole thing – and as somebody who is more interested in spending time with a different aspect of my being here, it is strange to have your body be representative of you.”
Melissa has been in the public eye since she won Canadian Idol back in 2005 at the tender age of 17.
