Naomi Watts plays Gretchen Carlson in The Loudest Voice — the new series about the rise and fall of Roger Ailes, former CEO of Fox News.
What are the challenges and responsibilities of telling Gretchen Carlson's story?
There's always pressure playing a real-life person. Particularly when they're still alive. It's such an important story, particularly from her point of view, because she inadvertently brought on the #MeToo movement. She had to endure so much: she was bullied, squashed emotionally, sexually harassed and backed into a corner in a way. Roger Ailes was a very powerful man. So, to see her take on that courage, it's very much in the world of female empowerment. Ten years from now we'll always refer back to her and the change that she created.
Fox News as we know is a right-wing news organisation that makes no bones about it. People say it's a "macho culture", a culture of power. What can you say about workplace culture that contributes to sexual harassment?
This place was famous for being misogynistic and keeping everyone in line, particularly women. Women were undervalued, they weren't getting the promotions that men were, they were told to wear skirts, told to look pretty and diminished in every possible way. There was a system in place that was all about supporting him [Roger Ailes]. He was very good at many things, at understanding what the media wanted and manipulating them and audiences. People just started drinking the Kool Aid and that led to the rise of his power and modern American conservatism. I think Gretchen Carlson was extraordinary in that she was able to push back and take him on. Now, I think things are changing. People are seeing that absolute power can be dangerous, and power reveals us and can corrupt us if not used wisely.