Emma Stone Slams This 'Garbage Advice' She Got From A Hollywood Exec 20 Years Ago

Emma Stone is one of the most celebrated and lauded actresses of her generation — and that's no thanks to some really awful advice she got early in her career.

Back in 2024, Stone received the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards, and during her speech, she took the opportunity to talk about something an executive once told her that inspired her — sort of.  "When I first moved to L.A., I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to, and an executive told me that for male actors, it's a marathon, not a sprint," Stone recalled (per IndieWire). "And in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon. And that was 20 years ago."

"And I realize that advice is total garbage because the majority of the women that I look up to in this industry, many of whom are in this room, have proven that as time goes on, life and work only get more interesting and more fulfilling," Stone (correctly) concluded. Certainly, Stone, who has been working steadily since getting her breakout roles in projects like "Superbad" and "Zombieland," can prove that her career is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Not just that, but it should go without saying that this executive's "advice" is quite obviously misogynistic, indicating that only male actors can experience longevity in their careers. Wherever that executive is today, he has definitely been proven dead wrong by Stone's career alone.

Luckily for audiences around the world, Emma Stone — who has been nominated for multiple major awards throughout her career and took home the Academy Award for best actress in 2017 for "La La Land" and again in 2024 for "Poor Things" — also told the audience at the Palm Springs International Film Festival that she has no intention of stopping her marathon any time soon.

"I have so much gratitude genuinely for this moment," Stone said during her speech. "I'm grateful that I get to keep trying new things and for the opportunity to make choices when it comes to work because I know how rare and fleeting it could be to choose what you wanna do or who you wanna work with as an actor. I am really so thankful for that. I hope for many more years of the chance to take swings and to try new things and to keep this marathon going."

IndieWire also noted that Stone devoted a portion of her speech to director Yorgos Lanthimos, with whom she's worked on four films, including "Poor Things" and "Bugonia." The actor lavished praise upon her frequent collaborator, calling him her "true creative soulmate."

Stone took on one of the most unusual and challenging roles of her career in "Poor Things" as Bella Baxter, a woman reanimated by surgeon Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) whose brain isn't quite in sync with her adult body. In this lascivious and unflinching film, Bella makes her way through Europe with sleazy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) before striking out on her own to learn about the world. Stone's Oscar-winning performance as a new creature adapting to her environment is fascinating, lived-in, and expertly crafted.

In addition to following that up with two more Lanthimos films, "Kinds of Kindness" and "Bugonia," inn which she also appeared in provocative roles, Stone also led the Showtime series "The Curse" alongside Nathan Fielder. The show featured Stone as would-be home improvement and lifestyle guru Whitney Siegel, with Fielder playing her hapless husband, Asher. "The Curse" allowed Stone to show off just how uncomfortable she can make audiences, playing Whitney as a clueless yet vile, entitled brat who will stop at almost nothing to become a star.

Not only is Emma Stone's career not slowing down, but she's continued to challenge herself and audiences with every role she's played recently.