Courtney Thorne-Smith recently sat down with her co-hosts on the Still the Place podcast, where she revealed a memory that has always stood out to her from the earliest days of her career. As a young lady, she was faced with an uncomfortable situation while on a film set.
As she explains, she gained the confidence to stand up for herself, something many others that age haven’t been able to do.
Courtney Thorne-Smith’s iconic television career
Courtney Thorne-Smith’s career began when she was a young girl, but she her true rise to fame came with her portrayal of Alison Parker on the hit television series, Melrose Place (1992-99). Parker was a central figure in the show, with her personal and professional struggles serving as the heart of many dramatic storylines. Thanks to the series’ popularity, Thorne-Smith became a household name.
Her TV stardom didn’t end there. Since Melrose Place, Thorne-Smith has starred in several other success shows, including Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and According to Jim (2001-09), which have allowed her to remain a popular figure on the small screen.
However, in the earliest days of her career, she tried her hand at film, and it was during this time that she experienced a rather uncomfortable situation.
Courtney Thorne-Smith wasn’t comfortable with her wardrobe
Courtney Thorne-Smith once worked on a film that involved a sexual relationship between her character and another, but there was a considerable age gap.
“One of my first movies, I was 17 years old, and I was in Tahoe. And the storyline was, I was 17, and I was playing against this guy who was in his late thirties,” she explained on an episode of the Still the Place podcast. “We did sleep together in the script, and I wore one of his button-down shirts afterward.”
However, when she arrived on the set, the costume Thorne-Smith was expected to wear was actually a “really sexy negligee,” not a baggy shirt. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, she told the director that the outfit was never in the script. “And he said, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter,'” she recalled. “Then I said, ‘The way it’s cut, something will show.’ And I also had this mindset of I’m 17 with an [older] man. Like I knew it was kind of off, but the shirt made it feel alright.”
The actor had a “no nudity clause” in her contract, but she was met with resistance – and not only by the director. A producer came up to her and told her the whole crew said she was “being a baby” for not wanting to wear the negligee, too.
Standing up for herself
Courtney Thorne-Smith was very unsettled about the costume change and called her agent for support. Thankfully, they agreed with her and encouraged the actor not to do anything she wasn’t comfortable with.
This was the right call, not only for herself, but because she’d been lied to about the crew’s sentiments. Thorne-Smith later found out the producer had made up their disapproval, and she explained that, after she’d said no to the outfit, “every single member of the crew came up and said, ‘Good for you.'”
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That kind of support went a long way for Thorne-Smith. “I’m so grateful I had that ability to stand up for myself at that age,” she said. “I’m amazed, actually. I had that ability at that age.”