Heather Graham Calls Out 'Sexist' Hollywood: 'I Was a Supporting Character in a Man's Story' (Exclusive)
"I'm glad that we are growing as a culture," the On a Wing and a Prayer star tells PEOPLE exclusively
Going back to the '80s, Heather Graham has starred in some major movie franchises.
But looking back, "some of the movies from that time period, they were so sexist," the On a Wing and a Prayer star, 53, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "No one really thought about it or commented on it. At that point, people thought they were being really evolved and now we look back and go, 'Whoa, that was so sexist.' I'm glad that we are growing as a culture."
Graham — known for her roles in Boogie Nights, License to Drive, The Hangover and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me — recognizes that the industry still has a long way to go.
"I feel like nothing has changed drastically," she says. "More people care, but it's not suddenly equal. It's still pretty sexist, to be honest. Every phase of the business, whether it's financing, distribution, the reviewers, all those people are mostly men. To get a female driven story that is appealing mostly to women through all these levels of male dominated business, it's not that easy."
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But Graham hopes to do just that going forward.
"The most inspiring thing to me is to see a lot of female writers, directors, and that's something that I'm starting to do," Graham says. "I really like hearing female voices because I think we learn a lot about the world from the movies and TV that we watch. If we're always being told stories from just a male point of view, that doesn't help women."
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Graham says seeing predominately male stories told affected the way she saw herself. "I always felt like I was a supporting character in a man's story," the actress says. "I wasn't always going, what do I want? I was going, how do I people please someone else? My journey has been to get more clear on what I want and go after that."
Graham will produce a TV series based on Liane Moriarty's Hypnotist's Love Story and direct and star in Chosen Family, which she also wrote. The Twin Peaks alum hopes to keep acting in more movies that she also directs.
"I think that's really fun," she says. "And I like cool, groovy female directors that are telling humorous stories about female points of view. I'd like to be in those more."
Related:Heather Graham, 51, Wears a Cheetah Print Bikini While Vacationing in Italy
In her latest film, On a Wing and a Prayer, Graham portrays Terri White, the wife of Doug White (Dennis Quaid), who finds himself having to land a plane on Easter 2009 after the pilot dies unexpectedly. Graham calls the movie based on real events "an edge-of-your-seat-type story."
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"I like the hopefulness of feeling like there's a spiritual energy out there in the universe looking out for your highest good — that sometimes you think all hope is lost, but something good can still happen," Graham says.
Graham had the pleasure of meeting the real Terri while working on the film and hearing her recount the harrowing experience. "She said, 'The angels were holding up the wings for us,'" Graham recalls. "She has a lot of belief and so I thought that was so beautiful."
On a Wing and a Prayer is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
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