Naomi Watts Was Told Her Career Would Be Over at Age 40: ‘It Was Kind of Looking That Way’

She may be one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood today, but there was a time when Naomi Watts was being told that her career wouldn’t have legs.

“At the beginning of my career, in my mid-twenties, everyone told me that I should expect it all to be over at 40,” the 50-year-old said during an interview with PorterEdit. “‘And to be honest, it was kind of looking that way. At that time, there were only a few people who seemed to scrape through and have careers beyond that.” Things didn’t go well for the Oscar nominee to kick things off.

“I went through a full-blown decade living in Hollywood, of being told, ‘No, no, no.’ It was crushing,” Naomi told the outlet. “And, bit by bit, it really tore me down, to the point that I couldn’t get out of that cycle. There were many times where I felt like packing it all in and going home with my tail between my legs.”

This isn’t the first time that the blonde beauty has discussed the ups and downs of her career — she once revealed why no one would hire her for ten years. “Coming from England, we were taught to self-deprecate: ‘No, sorry, I don’t need anything, I’m terrible,” the star told Australian Harper’s Bazaar. “I literally hovered around Los Angeles trying to get a job and walked in with my head down and not able to own the room for 10 years, which is why I was unhireable, probably.”

It took to the age of 32 for Naomi to finally get noticed, as she was hired to star in the 2001 film Mulholland Drive — all thanks to the film’s director. “It took a master like David Lynch to go, ‘I see something in there that she has; she just doesn’t know she has it,'” Naomi recalled.

However, the A-lister’s career can now of course be considered a success — she has received countless accolades and starred in films like The Ring, King Kong, The Impossible and Birdman. Naomi has also been tapped to star in the Game of Thrones prequel.

We can’t wait to see what’s next for her!