Parker Posey Lost Out on Roles for Being ‘Too Indie’

Parker Posey knows the pitfalls of being an indie darling.

The “Party Girl” breakout star recalled being pigeonholed as an indie actress early in her career, leading her to lose mainstream roles to Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts, among other stars. Posey told Vogue that she auditioned for “Speed” before the part went to Bullock, and shared even being told by her agent that she was “too indie.”

“I wasn’t really getting offered anything good,” Posey said of the early 2000s coming off of her iconic turn in “Scream 3.” “I would audition for all these great parts that ended up going to bigger names like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock.”

She added that she asked her agent at the time, “‘Can’t I just be Matt Damon’s ex-wife in two or three scenes of some action movie?’ I would never get those either. I asked what the feedback was and my agent told me, ‘They say you’re too indie.'”

The label also affected Posey’s status on Broadway after producers of 2012 Yale Repertory Theater play “The Realistic Joneses” recast Posey with Marisa Tomei after the production transferred to Broadway.

“It was not a very happy time,” the “Beau Is Afraid” star said. “But, hey, that’s how the industry works.”

Over her decades-long career, Posey cited finding inspiration from working with Nora Ephron, despite being cut from “Sleepless in Seattle” before collaborating with Ephron on “Mixed Nuts” and “You’ve Got Mail.”

“Nora was so supportive,” Posey said. “She told me I was a ‘gifted comedienne,’ which I’d never been called before.”

Posey reflected on the peak “punk” era of indie filmmaking, including her role in “The House of Yes.”

“I got lucky because at a time in the culture, you could do Off Broadway and afford your $700 a month apartment,” Posey told The New York Times in February 2023. “And you could do independent movies: ‘It’s only 22 days, yeah, I’ll do that one.’ It was kind of punk rock or like being in a band. Everyone was hanging out together and it was very organic. It was a little pocket of time that didn’t last that long.”