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In 1998, Hilary Swank was fired from the biggest role of her career. A year later, she won an Oscar
Hilary Swank was dismissed from Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1998 after 18 episodes, when the show’s creative team felt her character was not connecting with viewers. Losing the role freed her to take the lead in Boys Don’t Cry, a performance that earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress the following year.
Swank had joined the popular series on a two-year contract and expected greater job security, but was written out during its eighth season. Director Kimberly Peirce cast her as Brandon Teena two months after her departure; the film premiered in October 1999 to strong reviews. Swank later called being fired a blessing, saying it made the film possible, and won the Oscar aged 25.
In short
- Swank was fired from Beverly Hills, 90210 after 18 episodes.
- The dismissal freed her to star in Boys Don’t Cry.
- She won Best Actress at 25.
Explained simply
Beverly Hills, 90210 was a popular American television drama about young people living in the wealthy Los Angeles area of the same name. Hilary Swank joined its cast in 1997, playing a student called Carly Reynolds, but the programme’s creative team decided the character was not working for the story.
Boys Don’t Cry is a 1999 film based on the life of Brandon Teena, a transgender man who was murdered in Nebraska in 1993. Director Kimberly Peirce cast Swank in the lead role; her performance brought her the Academy Award for Best Actress, one of the film industry’s highest honours.