Rachel Zegler Prioritizes Women and Latino Creators in New Projects

Four upcoming films on Rachel Zegler’s slate—She Gets It From Me, NDA, Octet, and Last Dance—each feature women or Latino filmmakers in directing roles, the actor confirmed in a TIME interview published on YouTube. She described entering 2026 with a deliberate mission: to collaborate primarily with women and Latinos across key creative positions.

What Zegler means by “disenfranchised in this industry”

Zegler used the phrase “disenfranchised in this industry” to describe collaborators whose career pathways have been limited by systemic barriers. She linked that framing directly to her selection of projects where women directed She Gets It From Me and NDA, and Latino filmmakers directed Octet and Last Dance.

Her focus extends beyond casting or on-screen representation. Zegler emphasized decision-making authority behind the camera—specifically who writes, directs, produces, and shapes narrative development—as central to her criteria.

How past roles shaped her current priorities

Zegler referenced earlier experiences to explain her stance. In 2025, she spoke about female friendship in Hollywood, criticizing industry structures that position women as competitors rather than allies. She said she prefers to champion coworkers and build supportive relationships among women.

She also revisited public criticism tied to two major roles: West Side Story and Snow White. Earlier this year, she recalled hearing she was “not enough of one thing” for West Side Story and “too much of another” for Snow White—a dynamic she connected to narrow, externally imposed expectations.

Rejecting the “preset mold”

Zegler explicitly rejected the idea that actors should conform to a preset mold. Instead, she said she seeks roles portraying fully formed people—characters with interiority, complexity, and agency—not archetypes defined by gender, ethnicity, or market assumptions.

That principle informs both her choice of collaborators and her selection of characters. Each of the four announced projects reflects that dual emphasis: leadership by women and Latino creatives, and narrative space for multidimensional portrayals.