Brenda Song‘s transition from Disney child star to Hollywood actress wasn’t always so suite.
The actress, 37, rose to prominence for her role as hotel heiress London Tipton on Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in the early 2000s, starring in a number of original films on the network (Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, Stuck in the Suburbs) before transitioning to more mature roles in such titles as David Fincher‘s The Social Network.
While accepting Variety’s Virtuoso Award at the Bentonville Film Festival in Arkansas, Song shared that her career path was not without obstacles due to her Disney background, revealing that she had been considered for a role in Clint Eastwood‘s Gran Torino — but Disney ultimately would not allow it due to a sexual assault scene.
“The character had an intended sexual assault scene, so Disney nixed it,” Song said. “And I was very upset but I was like, ‘Okay, I guess it didn’t work out.’”
The 2008 thriller starred Eastwood as a disgruntled and prejudiced Korean War vet who forms an unlikely friendship with a Hmong teen (Bee Vang) after the latter reluctantly attempts to steal his treasured car.
Disney actually had similar concerns about her role as Christy, a love interest of Andrew Garfield‘s Eduardo who has a sexually explicit scene in the film, in The Social Network, Song shared. But she pushed back, going directly to Gary Marsh, president and COO of Disney Branded Television, at the time.
“I was just like, ‘I am an actor. When you hired me, I was not a hotel heiress. If I have ever done anything in my personal life to ever draw bad attention to your company, I understand. But this is the last season of the show, and this is the opportunity of a lifetime,'” Song shared. “And I was so fortunate, they were so supportive. They allowed me to do this film that truly changed my life.”
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Following her departure from Disney, Song appeared across episodes of Scandal, New Girl, Station 19, and Dollface. She also starred in movies like Changeland, where she met future husband Macaulay Culkin, and Secret Obsession. It was her recent turn in Gia Coppola‘s 2024 drama The Last Showgirl, starring opposite Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, that ushered in what many have hailed as the Brendaissance.
Song told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year that the role — as a fiery showgirl named Mary-Anne — marked a “beautiful turning point” in her career. “I had literally just said to my mom and my partner, ‘If the best of my career’s behind me, I think I’m okay with that. I am really proud of what I’ve done,’” she recalled. “And they’re like, ‘What are you talking about? You’re 35 years old.’ But I was at such a crossroads in my life.”
Most recently, she appeared on Mindy Kaling‘s sports comedy series Running Point, which was renewed for a second season. As with The Last Showgirl, that experience “re-energized me and reminded me why I love doing what I do so much,” Song said.
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