In Meghan Markle‘s revealing cover story with Variety, she described the discomfort she felt during her time as an actor in Hollywood. Markle made appearances on shows such as “Deal or No Deal,” “90210” and “Fringe” before landing her signature role of Rachel Zane on “Suits” in 2011. Although she would be on the show for more than 108 episodes, she spoke about the anxiety she faced early on which lead her to constantly question her place on the series during the first season.
When asked about Hollywood toxicity during her time as an actor, Markle said, “We didn’t have a name for it at that time. There were just certain things that were accepted. If there was any discomfort, you just dealt with it. It forced a lot of women to live with this idea of staying silent, not being disruptive, not giving voice to the things that might create concern or discomfort.”
She continued, describing how hard it was for her to land a steady job.
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“For me, I had tried for so long to land on a show, filming all these pilots, wondering if they would get picked up,” she said. “All of Season 1 on ‘Suits,’ I was convinced I was going to get recast. All the time. It got to a point where the creator was like, ‘Why are you so worried about this?'”
Markle also spoke about how different the media landscape feels today compared to her time on the show.
“When I was doing ‘Suits,’ that character, Rachel Zane, was in your living room with you while you were in your pajamas eating Chinese takeout,” she said. “That’s how connected the experience felt then. But to create a cultural moment or conversation requires something different today.”
