Emma Stone Reveals the ‘Total Garbage’ Advice a Hollywood Exec Once Gave Her

Emma Stone has managed to keep a good head on her shoulders since beginning her career in Hollywood 20 years ago.

As the Academy Award winner accepted the Desert Palm Achievement Award at Thursday's Palm Springs Film Awards for her performance in Poor Things, she recalled the "total garbage" advice she received early in her career from an executive.

"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 can be to choose what you want to do, or who you want to work with, as an actor," said Stone.

"I was not always sure that that would be the case, because when I first moved to LA, I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to. An executive told me that for male actors, it's a marathon, not a sprint, and in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon," she continued. "That was 20 years ago, and I realized 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."

She made her onscreen debut in VH1's 2004 competition reality series In Search of the New Partridge Family, before making her breakout big screen performance in Superbad (2007).

Stone won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 2016's La La Land, which also earned her her first Golden Globe. She's currently nominated for two Globes at this weekend's ceremony, including Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for Poor Things and Best Actress in a Television Series — Drama for The Curse.

The 81st Golden Globe Awards air Sunday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS, also streaming live on Paramount+.