Laura Dern is an legend of the silver screen, with Dern’s iconic movies ranging from everything like Jurassic Park to David Lynch films like Wild at Heart. She is magnetic , and even when she takes on small roles, she makes every film endlessly watchable. However, it turns out not every director could see this. Dern recently revealed she was turned down for roles constantly when she was first starting out as an actress, and it apparently had nothing to do with her acting prowess.
In a recent interview with The Independent, the Big Little Lies star opened up about her latest critically acclaimed film, Is This Thing On and hurdles she had to overcome when she first started auditioning. Dern started auditioning for acting roles as a kid, but as a tall child, her height ended up being a problem – specifically because she was already 5’11" at 12 years old. When asked if this ever resulted in her being turned down for parts, she told the publication,
Oh, 150 times! I was 5ft 11 at 12 years old and acting already, so I was losing parts constantly!
Unfortunately, this isn’t very surprising. Many male actors are short, and movies are oftentimes cast around small movie stars. This presents a problem when traditional directors like their female leading ladies to be shorter than their counterparts. She eventually overcame this and was often paired with tall actors like Kyle MacLachlan and Nicolas Cage. She was also paired with Will Arnett for Is This Thing On?, who is also very tall, at 6’2. However, her height was still a factor during scenes when the two were sitting down together. She said:
I have a radically tall torso. It means that when Will and I are sitting side by side, we’re the same height. And it’s crazy to be in a scene with a male actor, and we’re actually looking straight into each other’s eyes, you know?
Even though this may be the case, I think this ended up working for the movie. Is This Thing On? is about divorce, and having the leads at the center of the story be similar in height in some scenes almost evens out the power dynamic. They are on equal footing, giving Dern just as much power in the frame as Will Arnett. Sometimes tall actors can take over a frame, like Chris Hemsworth does in scenes with Natalie Portman in Thor. That may make sense for that story, but for an intimate story about a relationship unraveling, the height similarities are actually alluring.
It may have been a problem in Dern’s early career, but I think her height eventually became one of the star’s greatest strengths. It gives her power in scenes, especially when they put her in heels. Her Oscar-winning performance in Marriage Story comes to mind and how memorable her stature is as the divorce attorney in that movie.
In Big Little Lies, her attitude fills the screen, and her height makes her stand out even more, making that character even more dominant. Once Hollywood learned how to use Laura Dern, it opened up doors for the actress, and her height became another thing that makes her unique.
You can see Laura Dern in her latest film, Is This Thing On?, when the movie becomes available on digital on February 10, 2026. You can also see the movie star in Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly, which is currently available streaming with a Netflix subscription.
