Why Gina Gershon Turned Down Friday the 13th

Gina Gershon says her Hollywood instincts kicked in early—and cost her a Friday the 13th lead, USA Today reports. In a recent interview, the 63-year-old actress recalled turning down a starring role in the horror franchise's second installment because it required her character to go topless just before being killed, a moment she felt was there purely to put her body on display. "It definitely felt kind of exploitative to me and a little silly," she told Fox News Digital, adding that the choice taught her to trust her gut in the industry.

In her upcoming memoir, AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, Gershon writes that she saw the scene as "exploitation 101," part of a then-routine formula in slasher films where women died with their chests exposed. She says her father backed her right to decide—"It's your body. If you're comfortable with it, I'm comfortable with it"—which helped her learn to trust herself to make decisions, Fox News reports. She ultimately passed, deciding nudity should serve a story, not a trope. The scene was reportedly dropped from the 1981 film, while Gershon made her screen debut that same year in Beatlemania: The Movie and went on to roles in films and shows including Showgirls, Riverdale, and New Amsterdam. Her book also addresses a clash over nudity in Showgirls, People reports.