Kaya Scodelario reveals she was once asked to ‘take her clothes off’ while auditioning for a ‘big director’

Comments follow allegations of sexual misconduct made against actor Noel Clarke

Kaya Scodelario has revealed that she was once asked to “take her clothes off” while auditioning for a “big director”.

On Thursday (29 April), a Guardian report shared allegations by 20 woman about actor and director Noel Clarke, who they claimed had a repeated history of sexual harassment and bullying from between the years 2004 and 2019.

Among the allegations was that Clarke had reportedly conducted a naked audition with Brotherhood star Jahannah James which he secretly filmed and showed to a producer. Clarke has denied these claims, along with nearly all others put to him by The Guardian.

Now, Skins star Scodelario has shared her own experiences of being asked to audition while nude.

Responding to a tweet reading: “Naked auditions has thrown me completely!”, the actor tweeted on Friday (30 April) morning: “I had an audition for a job a few years ago.

“It said ‘she just needs to come in. Take her clothes off and that’s all’. I was terrified. Luckily I have an agent who swiftly said there was no way that was going to happen. This was a big movie. A big director. A big ‘opportunity’.”

She continued: “MANY MANY young actors do not have the safety net of a caring agent to protect them. They will assume that it is normal for an actress’s worth to be measured by the body they have. By the amount of skin they are willing to show. We have been conditioned to believe this.”

Scodelario then described getting down to the final two actors while auditioning for a “notoriously difficult director”, recalling: “He emailed our agents ‘whoever agrees to go nude 1st gets the job’. The movie had no nudity in it. He just wanted 2 see who’d say yes.”

While Scodelario’s stories do not reference Clarke, the actor did tweet: “The women who come forward openly are so brave. I am in awe of you all.”

Bafta has suspended Clarke while it investigates the allegations against him. Clarke had been awarded the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award by the organisation earlier this month.

You can find more information and advice for people affected by sexual assault and abuse at Rape Crisis or you can call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247