'Twilight' star told to hide sexuality to win Hollywood roles

The 76th Venice Film Festival - Screening of the film "Seberg" in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals - Venice, Italy, August 30, 2019 - Actor Kristen Stewart poses. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

LONDON, United Kingdom - "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart has revealed she was advised not to hold her girlfriend's hand in public for fear it could harm her movie career.

The 29-year-old, who had a high-profile relationship with her "Twilight" co-star Robert Pattinson before revealing in 2015 that she had a female partner, said she was told she "might get a Marvel movie" if she disguised her sexuality.

She did not reveal who had made the remark, but said she did not care about the impact on her career of being open about her personal life.

"I don't want to work with people like that," she said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine published online on Monday.

Charles Gant, features editor with industry magazine Screen International, said the situation for LGBT+ actors had improved, but some still came under pressure to hide their sexuality.

"I don't think it's a case of Hollywood forcing – but it can be more insidious than that," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.

"If your agent and manager and whole team are saying, 'of course we will support you in any choice, but these are the risks, why risk what you have?' ... It's hard in that situation to have the strength of will to power through." — Reuters