Lena Dunham: No Body Scrutiny; Won’t Star in Her New Series After ‘Girls’

Lena Dunham has decided to remain behind the camera for her new Netflix show, Too Much, primarily to avoid having her body become a focal point of public conversation.

In a recent interview with The New Yorker, the 38-year-old comedian, currently living in London with her British musician husband Luis Felber, shared her desire to protect her peace as she transitions back to television with a new rom-com series.

After spending six years facing public commentary about her body while working on Girls—her Emmy-nominated HBO series—Dunham chose to cast someone else in the semi-autobiographical role on Too Much. This character will be portrayed by Hacks breakout star Meg Stalter and will follow the story of an American woman falling in love with a musician in London.

“It’s about an American woman in London who has had a bad breakup in New York and is confused, meeting a recovering punk musician and trying to figure out if they can make a life together. It’s not a huge leap. But I knew from the very beginning I would not be the star of it,” Dunham explains. She adds that she knew Stalter, 29, was perfect for the role due to her comedic and acting skills.

But Dunham’s decision wasn’t solely based on finding the right talent. She revealed that prioritizing her mental health played a significant role. “I also think that I was not willing to have another experience like what I’d experienced around Girls at this point in my life. Physically, I was just not up for having my body dissected again,” she says.

The actress has previously been open about body image issues and the struggles she faced while starring on Girls. In 2018, she shared on Instagram side-by-side pictures of herself at two different weights, explaining the mental and physical differences after gaining 24 pounds. She highlighted that a lower weight does not necessarily equate to happiness or health, especially as her thinner body was due to an illness causing her physical pain.

In her recent interview, Dunham mentions that she is now more attuned to herself and knows what is best for her, both physically and mentally, even if it means not starring in a project close to her heart. “I used to think that winning meant you just keep doing it and you don’t care what anybody thinks. I forgot that winning is actually just protecting yourself and doing what you need to do to keep making work,” she says.

Too Much also features Dunham’s Girls co-star, Andrew Rannells, Emily Ratajkowski, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel‘s Michael Zegen, Rhea Perlman, Richard E. Grant, Rita Wilson, and Stephen Fry. Stalter’s love interest, Felix, will be played by The White Lotus season 2 star Will Sharpe.

Regarding Dunham’s highly anticipated Polly Pocket film, she shared that she will no longer be making it. Dunham told The New Yorker that despite working hard on the script for three years, she feels that Greta Gerwig set too high a standard with Barbie.

“[…]I think Greta [Gerwig] managed this incredible feat [with Barbie], which was to make this thing that was literally candy to so many different kinds of people and was perfectly and divinely Greta. And I just — I felt like, unless I can do it that way, I’m not going to do it,” Dunham says.

She adds, “I don’t think I have that in me. I feel like the next movie I make needs to feel like a movie that I absolutely have to make. No one but me could make it. And I did think other people could make Polly Pocket.”

Source: The New Yorker