Danielle Macdonald: ‘Films that deal with body image by just saying, ‘Love yourself’? That’s not life’

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. On Roxon’s rock’n’roll lifestyle, another critic wrote: “All she didn’t do in the Sixties was share needles with Brett Whitely.” The journalist’s devil-may-care attitude and penchant for partying – despite her not taking drugs and being mostly teetotal – is perhaps what makes Macdonald’s recent role the biggest stretch of all. In Macdonald’s case, there has been no singular movie to slingshot her career; even her most acclaimed films like Patti Cake$ have largely flown under the radar. I didn’t know that I could put that into words but then I read the book and I was like, ‘Wow, OK, yeah, that’s what it was.’” Audiences welcomed the film’s realistic approach to body image – a topic that is often sanded over in movies by self-help truisms like stay positive and f*** what everyone else thinks. It’s like, hey we have to talk about this, we have to change the game so let’s just show some diversity here and there, which isn’t the point,” says Macdonald.