Why so many great actresses are ruthlessly cut out of big Hollywood movies

Black Mass, Tomorrowland, and X-Men: Days of Future Past prove just how expendable most female roles really are

Sienna Miller
(Image credit: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

If you see Black Mass, the buzzed-about crime drama opening in theaters this weekend, don’t expect to find Sienna Miller. She was cast in the movie. She's just not in it anymore.

Miller was cast as Catherine Grieg, accomplice and girlfriend to gangster Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp) during his many years on the run. She had scrupulously researched the role, talking to people who knew Bulger and Grieg and perfecting a South Boston accent. She filmed her scenes. Director Scott Cooper described her as "fantastic." But when it came time to edit, he decided to focus on Bulger's life in Boston. Miller's work was scrapped; at best, it'll turn up in the DVD extras.

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Amy Woolsey

Amy Woolsey is a freelance writer who recently graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Her writing has appeared in the Mason student newspaper, Fourth Estate, and Bitch Flicks, a feminist pop culture website. She blogs about film and TV at theauramusings.wordpress.com.