Carey Mulligan has branded the film industry sexist, saying that it leaves stories about women largely untold. The 30 year old actress, who stars in the upcoming Suffragette, said that she believes the story took so long to make it to the big screen because it wasn't felt to be financially viable by studios.

Carey MulliganCarey Mulligan has called the film industry ‘sexist’.

In an interview with Reader’s Digest, Mulligan was asked why the story of the suffragette movement hadn't been told up until now. "I don't think it's an oversight at all," the actress said.

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“This is one that's fallen by the wayside because of that. I think a lot of people have sat around tables in various production offices and decided it wasn't financially viable.”

Speaking about her decision to take an 18 month break from movies after 2011’s Shame, Mulligan explained that she just couldn’t find anything interesting to work on. "You either make a lot of compromises and play roles you're not very keen on, or you have to wait."

"I've been incredibly lucky in getting the jobs I've done, and I did enough work in the earlier part of my career to allow me to sit around for a bit,” she added. “But that's a privileged position - not many people get to do that.”

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Mulligan stars alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, and Anne-Marie Duff in Suffragette, which due to open the London film festival on 7 October. She plays Maud Watts, an East End laundry worker and housewife who becomes drawn into the suffragette movement. The film is directed by Brick Lane’s Sarah Gavron and based on a screenplay by The Iron Lady’s Abi Morgan.