Actress Naomi Scott says there have been times in her career where she had to speak up despite being made to feel “difficult”.
The 27-year-old, who starred as Princess Jasmine in Disney’s live action Aladdin remake, offered advice to budding performers during a masterclass for British Vogue as part of its Vogue Visionaries series in partnership with YouTube.
Scott, from London, detailed a number of career steps including auditioning, how to approach different roles and handle critics.
She said: “We’ve all been there when you feel uncomfortable or you’re not sure about something and if you speak up you’re kind of made to feel like, ‘Oh you’re being a bit difficult’ and I would just say it’s never going to be as bad as you think.
“You have to listen to that gut feeling and speak up if you don’t feel comfortable. You need to make sure you protect yourself and do whatever it is you need in order to do your job.”
Scott, who is married to footballer Jordan Spence, said it had been “tough” learning how to overcome rejection and that she now realised it was often not her acting abilities that had prevented her from getting roles.
She said: “Being an actor, part of that is dealing with rejection. It’s tough but I think over the years I’ve really understood more and more that it really isn’t personal.
“I’ve understood that the most when I’ve seen behind the scenes, whether we are talking about casting things now in terms of producing things and understanding that it’s never a case of ‘oh this person’s talented and this person’s not’.
“There’s so many other factors that go into making either a movie, TV show or piece of content that has nothing to do with you, it’s just about how you fit within the rest of the moving pieces.”
In 2019, Scott played Jasmine in the live action version of Aladdin, which was directed by Guy Ritchie, but she secured her first major role in 2011 with the science fiction drama Terra Nova.
Scott has also starred in the superhero film Power Rangers in 2017 and the 2019 reboot of Charlie’s Angels, alongside Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska.
Vogue Visionaries: Episode One – Acting with Naomi Scott is available to watch here.