Gina Gershon has shared why she passed on a part in a major horror series, saying the scene as written didn’t sit right with her.
The actor, best known for roles including Showgirls, spoke to Fox News Digital about early opportunities in her career — including an offer she ultimately declined.
Gershon revealed she was approached to appear in a sequel to Friday the 13th, but said she hesitated because the role leaned into what she viewed as unnecessary “exploitation,” a topic she also addresses in her memoir, AlphaP–sy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs.
The long-running slasher franchise launched in 1980 and quickly expanded with follow-ups in 1981, 1982 (Friday the 13th Part III), and 1984 (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), before continuing with many more installments after that.
According to Gershon, the offer was for the 1981 sequel — and her concern centered on a moment in which her character would be topless immediately before being killed.
She explained that while she was eager to land film work at the time, the creative choice felt hard to justify.
Gershon said: “I was offered a lead in that movie. And, of course, I was so excited to act in movies, but it definitely felt kind of exploitative to me and a little silly that right before she gets killed, her top has to come off.”
Still undecided, she said she asked her father what he thought — expecting him to object — but his response surprised her.
“Listen, I was really lucky that I had a father who really taught me how to believe in my own decisions,” she she said.
“It wasn’t like I had to rebel against my family. I remember asking him about it, thinking he was going to say, ‘No daughter of mine is going to do that!’ And he said, ‘It’s your body. If you’re comfortable with it, I’m comfortable with it’.”
In her book, Gershon also looks back on what she describes as a common slasher-movie pattern: women being shown nude in violent death scenes.
She wrote: “At the time, those kinds of slasher movies always had girls dying with their breasts exposed. My character would be killed by a stake through the heart, blood dripping down her t***. That seemed pretty lame to me: exploitation 101.”
After considering the conversation and her own instincts, Gershon said she decided the role wasn’t right for her.
“When I sat and thought about it, I just thought, ‘I don’t really want to do this,’” she said. “I wasn’t comfortable with it. It seemed silly to me.”
She added that while she wasn’t opposed to nudity in film, she felt it needed to serve the story rather than exist purely for shock value.
“Not that I had anything against nudity – I grew up on European films – but only if it makes sense for the character and the story,” she explained. “But when it just seems silly, I don’t know. It just felt like it was something that wasn’t for me.”