For that um Show for glow They told me that my character was going To be an ex-showgirl And I said all right well i'll do it If I can get into show girl costume at some Point [Music] A tech founder and in this series i'll Explore how exceptional people succeed By following their hero's journey Hi gina welcome to hero's journey and Thanks so much for joining it's an honor To have you here thank you so one of the Most important qualities of a hero is That they use their superpowers to Empower others You have exemplified this trait Throughout your career in the strong Female characters you've played The ceilings you broke in the 90s when No one was even talking about gender Equality in hollywood And the very important philanthropic Work you've done with the gina davis Institute and the bentonville film Festival Let's start with the characters you Portrayed to name just a few you've Played an outlaw a baseball player the First female president of the united States and most recently a vegas
Showgirl turned hotel manager watching You play these characters throughout my Life has been such an inspiration to me And what i've always wondered is how did You do it at a time when there were so Few substantial roles in hollywood for Women How did you land so many of them you Know did you seek them out or did they Just kind of come to you Well yes you know i have to admit that i Did manage to land Some of the best parts uh that were Around so uh so i'm thrilled about that Obviously and that also that i got to Play so many different kinds of Characters i feel like i never was Typecast a lot of times i went after These roles uh Very intensely The accidental tourist was was one of Them and uh The one i uh Went after the most ferociously was Thelma and louise by the time i read it Was already cast and uh I kept wow yeah i kept track of it i Kept trying to know if anything happens You know and I had an agent who was Very helpful and persistent and would Call ridley scott once a week Uh Just to say
If anything happens you know judah's Still interested so Finally It took a year Until i was able to Uh actually meet with ridley scott and Convince him why I had to be in it so uh but thankfully It uh it paid off but i was like i am Going to be in this movie i don't care That's incredible well what i love about That is it just shows that it was your Strength and your confidence you know as A woman to go after those roles and That's really really amazing to see and I will say that i do think it's more Than luck you know the reason that you Got those roles is because you really Embody that woman that the woman who can Be a role model who's who is a rebel you Know who is strong it just comes through Um in your aura and it you and you were Able to portray that like you said not Just as a typecast character but in so Many different characters and it's it's Incredible it's really really amazing Thank you so is there a particular role In your career that has had the most Impact on you personally yeah it was Definitely thumb on louise it's a Fabulous part to play it was an Incredible experience getting to Spend every day with with susan sarandon And you know learn so much from her
I talk about women who Move beautifully through the world and Uh are in charge of their own destiny You know she's uh she's a perfect Example but um but it was also The reaction that the movie got uh None of us expected that it would Explode like it did i mean we it was a Low budget and we hoped people would Like it but No idea that it was going to take off Like that and What it showed me Was uh How few opportunities women get Uh through the movies to feel inspired And empowered by female characters you Know almost every movie that comes out Male audiences are welcome to identify With with someone in there and uh Live vicariously through them but it's Very rare actually for women to do that And uh It was it was really eye-opening to me The way you know somebody recognized me On the street or whatever the the way They would talk to me about it and about How much it meant to them and how it Changed their lives and i was like me Too So ever since then I decided to make my acting choices with The women in the audience in mind what Were they going to think about my
Character And uh Would it have some kind of positive Impact and not that i wanted to play uh You know role models because some louise Are like horrible role models anyway but Uh but You know That i would want to lean more toward Women who were in charge of their own Fate or became in charge of their own Fate you know that um we're responsible For their destiny that's really really Amazing that you have that Insight and that depth really at such a Young age and such an early time in your Career and you have so much impact as a Result of that it's so cool So Take us back to when you were a little Girl you were born in massachusetts your Mother was a teacher's assistant your Father was an engineer When did you know that you wanted to be An actress and how did you break into Hollywood Well Evidently i don't remember this but Evidently my parents said i announced to Them At three That i was going to be In movies and i cannot tell you what i Saw where i got that idea from
But it never Wavered i was just sure you know because Of course it always works out it was Absolutely positive That i was going to get to do this thing And um and thank god it did work out Because it's it's my love it's uh you Know it's it's what i what i love doing Um and i'm so grateful that i that i Have got to do it i studied acting in College and uh i went to boston University But they didn't give any advice on how To Get a job where you should go how you Should get a job and Pretty much all of my classmates were Going to go to new york to try to get Him plays and i knew i didn't want to be In plays i wanted to be in movies but Nobody said You should go To la instead And so i went to new york with everybody And then i decided You know if i could become a famous Model They will just offer me movie roles Because at that time uh christy brinkley Was in some movies and and uh lauren Hutton And uh i thought sure sure i'll just Become a model and then i'll naturally Become an actress because it's so much
Easier to become a supermodel Uh But I got an agent well when you're gina Davis it's so much easier to become a Super well I never did thankfully i guess but uh But i did work here and there and uh When they were casting the movie tootsie It was shooting in new york and so they Called model agencies to see if they had Any Models who could act because the role Involved being the character being in Her underwear quite a bit and they Thought well let's see if there's a Model who happens to be able to act so They called my agency and they said yeah We have one and uh And so i Auditioned and Got the part so It was amazing it was incredible like What are the odds that my first job Is going to be Doing scenes so it doesn't happen i mean You know amazing beyond imagining and And yet there i was well you were Clearly more than worthy and you have Gone on to have a very illustrious Career as we talked about and You know After Roll after roll after roll and so many
Accolades at a time when i think most People would just kind of sit back and Sort of just you know count the money And Just you know just enjoy You know chill out you know Um and not really do anything in 2004 You decided to launch the gina davis Institute on gender and media and you Have done incredible work with this Institute since then what inspired you To start this organization Well it was very specific it was my Daughter When she was two i decided to start Watching Little kids programs with her you know Preschool shows or g-rated videos or Whatever And sat down with her and the very first Thing that i turned on Within a few minutes i was thinking Wait a minute how many female characters Are there in this show And uh i started counting on my hands And then i Uh Had my computer next to me so i looked Up Uh What the uh what the situation was and Uh And there was tons of male characters And one female character and i thought
Well this is surely an aberration and uh And i started noticing it more and more And more with things that i watched with Her there was a Movie that came out that had uh that Once the mother dies gruesomely in the First five minutes uh There's only one female creature in in The rest of the movie and I couldn't believe it and i i didn't Intend to you know make it my life's Mission or anything but It was so stunning to me That we'd be making these kinds of Things for kids and in the 21st century So i asked a bunch of my friends None of them had noticed And then because i meet with people all The time in the industry I would invariably ask them Have you ever noticed how few female Characters there are in movies and tv Made for kids and every single person Not only said that's not true anymore But Uh But they they insisted that it was uh on The top of their minds They at their studio company or whatever It's all we think about is doing right By girls and we know we are And And i think yeah but you just made that Movie with one female character how is
This adding up so that's when i decided That i wanted to get the data that's That's what really changed everything Was Seeing how Nobody seemed conscious of this Phenomenon and And if i got the data i could go back to These creators and say i didn't think You were aware but what do you think now And so that's what we've done in the About 15 years that we've been In existence is do massive research And then use it to go directly In a very supportive Private collegial way to say hey were You aware Of this and uh and it turns out That it is the magic key that the Research in this case is uh Is absolutely the the thing that changes People's minds That's amazing it's so smart it's so Smart That you A thought to start with children because That's you know that's the first touch Point and and children are exposed at Such a young age to media and when They're two if all the messages that They're getting is are that you know men And boys are in all the powerful Positions and they're the heroes then You know what hope do we have by the
Time that they're adults that's so smart Well that's exactly right is is that i Decided We're teaching we're teaching Unconscious bias from minute one we have To stop doing that because we all know How difficult it is To get rid of Bias and unconscious bias Later you know we all Oh the the world seems to want to Improve uh you know women's status and Uh and equality But It's very hard to correct once it's Internalized so Let's not do it from the beginning and Uh yes that is the goal exactly i love That And i love that you focused on research And data i mean i'm a tech person so a Big believer in data um but that's just Such a perfect use of it because it Really helps like you said people Thought they were That they they were doing a good job Already and you know when they're faced With the stats it it helps them see that Actually they're not um so If you know if if you have them Just so we can get a sense what were the Stats on gender equality in media when You started and how has that changed Over the past 15 years since you've been
Doing this and how has your you know i Think in a large part the work that you Did and you started this early when Really no one was talking about it has Had has had what seems like a big impact So what were the stats then and what are They now Uh well at the time we started um there Were Uh three Male speaking characters to every one Female speaking character in both Kids tv and kids uh movies so up to Pg-13 gpg and pg-13 And uh and there were very few Uh lead characters that were female in Films i think the first time we looked At that uh 11 Of the lead characters were female and Um So These were You know pretty shocking numbers and uh And we Started our work and uh Uh In you know and maybe just a few years We uh Were now at uh two to one instead of Three to one as far as the the general Populace of the uh Of the um a movie or show was concerned And then uh it kept Creeping up but also the thing that
Changed And has changed the most uh in all of The different areas of improvement we're Looking for is lead characters Because in Tv and movies Made for kids aimed at kids we are now At 50 50 for the lead characters which Is A massive difference than when we began And what could be better we could be Better than 50 50. so uh So we're thrilled about about that and And so we're we're still um Obviously we want to make sure that that Gets maintained um and we're really also Looking at what was very important to me Is the world In which the Fiction takes place Uh how balanced is that and uh and there We still have a lot of work to do Not as much as we used to but still more Work and also we look at not just uh Gender but Characters of color uh Characters that are utterly abled um age We look at age we look at body type and Uh there's about six things that we Uh are working on and looking for to to Really balance out the worlds that are Seeing and it's not radical because We're trying to make them look like Real life
We're not trying to do something that Doesn't already exist we just want The world's created in fiction to Reflect the real world Yeah no that's exactly right and very Very well said so You have Had this incredible impact over the past 15 years changing The stats on gender equality and now Just diversity and representation In media and you have also over this Time you know been doing an incredible Job unearthing and championing beautiful Films made by diverse filmmakers You recently wrapped the seventh annual Bentonville film festival Where you showcased many of these films Tell us a bit about the festival and why It's so important to you Yes yes i'm amazed that it's already Been seven years um This uh This sort of sprang out of uh some of The ideas that that that i was already Working on we were already working on Um as far as representation goes and Uh it just seemed like a great idea to Have A film festival that was Solely dedicated to uh Uh Presenting You know underrepresented voices and uh
So um we look at not only to to qualify To be in the film festival we look at Not only who's on screen of course but Uh who's the writer director producer And and and all of that and uh Uh and this last year i might not get The numbers exactly right but Uh it was something like 77 Of the films were directed by women And uh 72 by people of color And uh 67 Were directed by uh Uh people who are lgbtq plus And uh And so there's you have to realize There's a lot of intersectionality there Because those numbers don't add up to a Hundred uh so there's uh a lot of people Who are you know hit hit multiple Categories Those stats are staggering especially When you compare them to the Kind of status quo in hollywood so it's Really amazing and i'm very excited About uh the films that you know that You featured and excited to watch them All they're all in my queue So i wanted to close by asking you about A nuanced issue when it comes to women's Empowerment And that is female sexuality So historically the notion of a strong
Woman and a sexy woman have really been At odds you know when i was graduating From college and interviewing for jobs On wall street and in consulting firms The advice that i got repeatedly was To do everything i could to tamp down my Sexuality you know wear a big boxy suit And you know try and speak in a lower Voice and all of these things And it's something that really never sat Right with me because that's not natural For me And i also feel now as i'm getting older I'm starting to feel that pressure again To tamp down sexuality you know i'm a Mother now i'm gonna be 40 soon and it's Like not okay for older women to be Sexual And you know watching you what i've Loved about Just your career is that you've always Bucked that trend you've always played Very strong female characters who are Also sexy and most recently um you Played in the show glow a Vegas showgirl turned hotel manager and There's this one scene where you get up On stage And you wear the most epic show girl Costume i have ever seen it is just Amazing and you look spectacular I mean i was blown away i love it so Much And i found myself
Empowered once again watching you you Know thinking that Wow like i can be sexy too at 40 at 50 At 60 And i can also be a strong woman at the Same time So What i'm wondering is you know as as as An icon of women's empowerment you know And you're out there doing this Philanthropic work It's Because in most people's mind women's Empowerment and feminism are really kind Of Opposite to Women's sexiness you know do you ever do People ever give you flack for kind of Combining these two things and when you Go out and you play these roles you know And you you know show up on stage you Know Barely close You know Is that like do people say hey wait a Second you're not supposed to be doing That gina you're about women's Empowerment right right Uh You know it's it's tough because um I mean it's it's tough to compare to Real life because uh My industry is all about Being as sexy as possible um and uh
If you can manage to be sexy in your Later years i think that's uh that's uh Seem to be you know okay although uh You know as far as women um Let's say over 40 uh being the romantic Lead in films it's you know that that's Uh that's actually quite Quite rare for that um Show for glow they told me that my Character was going to be an ex-show Girl And uh i said all right well i'll do it If I can get into show girl costume at some Point Because i don't know i've always had This image of show girls here with a Giant headdress and everything how cool That would be and uh So We went for it in a big way Well you nailed it and it was awesome Okay so we are going to end with our Rapid fire heroes journey questions There are four questions And the first one is what's your Favorite book about a hero it can be Fiction or non-fiction the book i've Read the most that's about a a powerful Woman is uh is called imperial woman by Pearl s buck it's an old book about the Last empress of china and she's not a Great uh role model Exactly
But Uh but she achieves and and retains Power and i've read it dozens of times i Just i just find it so fascinating And colorful i'm going to add that to my List all right question two what's your Super food Baked goods Pastry uh cake cookies Pie Anything that's been baked all right Question three what's your kryptonite Believe it or not it's it's uh saying What i think Uh is my kryptonite and uh i've spent my Entire life Trying to close the gap between Uh When when something comes up and when i Say what i think about it uh Because i i was raised to be so insanely Polite that I could never challenge anybody and Never question anything and and just oh Laugh off you know whatever it is but uh It wasn't that long ago that i Thought ah i've defeated my kryptonite Uh A uh A director On something i was working on Said oh hey good morning and you know People will usually hug on sets Gave me a big hug and while we were
Still hugging he said my favorite part Of the day when i get to feel up gina Davis And I know he was trying to make a joke But i instantly said Wow that's not appropriate And he was so shocked and like Apologized and following all over Himself to apologize no no no no this is What i meant I was like that's okay because i was so Excited That i said Wow what i would have said if i thought Of it later Go gina i know i know it seems so small But it's so significant it is so Significant and i know and all the women Watching this know how significant that Is Right final question what's your secret Weapon Oh I keep it very secret What is my secret weapon I think maybe humor Maybe humor my sense of humor i can get Away with a lot by making it funny Yes and i will also add your smile you Have the most beautiful smile i've ever Seen oh god all right i'll say that next Time somebody asked me Gina davis thank you so much for joining
Hero's journey it was an honor and a Pleasure to have you you are such an Inspiration to women All over the world including myself and It is such a pleasure to speak with you Thank you thank you [Music] You
