'Monica Velour' Star Kim Cattrall Feels 'Marginalized' by 'Hollywood Machine'

Kim Cattrall stars in 'Meet Monica Velour.' (Reuters)

Kim Cattrall became a household name when she embodied the role of the sexually-charged, uber-confident Samantha Jones in HBO’s hit “Sex & the City.” But since the much-loved television series ended in 2004, and with no word of a third movie in the pipeline, Cattrall isn’t afraid to admit she has become just another aging Hollywood actress struggling to score a decent job.

“I’ve worked hard and I feel at this point in my life I’m a better actress than I have ever been, but there are no roles,” she told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column. “Being marginalized at 54 is happening, and it is an extraordinary feeling. You think, ‘what is my contribution going to be?’ especially in the machine of Hollywood.”

So its no surprise Cattrall jumped at the opportunity to play the multi-layered role of a washed-up porn star living in a trailer park in rural Indiana in the new independent comedy film “Meet Monica Velour.” But despite having been in the business for over 35 years, she claims to be far from the top of Hollywood’s 50+ hot list.

“I usually don’t even get a chance to do roles like this, for woman over 50, those roles are normally reserved for Annette Bening or Michelle Pfeiffer if they want to do them, and if they don’t – it just filters down,” she said.

Cattrall also expressed dismay at the reports that rather than doing another “Sex & the City” movie, a prequel is being planned to instead bring to life Carrie Bradshaw’s younger years.

“(The prequel) is very disappointing, it really is. Like the film or not, the backlash against ageism was very ugly. It reminds me very much of Hillary Clinton running for the Presidential democratic nomination,” she continued. “We have racism that’s a big issue, but misogyny is a huge issue too and women don’t talk about it. It hurts. Nobody is speaking up about it and I think that is really a shame. We’re suffering from this post-feminist goop. We don’t have equal pay and we still don’t have equal rights and that needs to be addressed like it was in the 60s and 70s.”

According to Cattrall, Hollywood’s distorted perception of what a lady should look like negatively impacts young men just as much as it does young girls.

“Boys in their 20s, their whole idea of a woman is fake breasts, a washboard stomach, a tan – that’s how they have been brought up, those unrealistic images,” she continued. “Then a real woman comes. She is maybe overweight and things are hanging and they can’t deal with it. Children are brought up on these images that are a big disappointment, how can anything ever live up to it?”

And while plenty of stars seem to haev figured it out, Cattrall said it would have been impossible to manage motherhood along with a successful Hollywood career, and she could never have continued had she had children.

“I don’t think you can have it all, unfortunately, you have to compromise,” Cattrall continued. “I don’t think I could have done the same work I have done in the last five years especially, if I had kids. It would have been very difficult not just on me but on them, almost impossible moving countries and time zones and changing schools. All those things many of my actress friends have to deal with… compromise is really tough.”

But unlike her reel life alter-ego Samantha Jones, Cattrall loves her real life sans a man.

“For the last two years I have been single and happily so – just coming home and having that companionship and solitude,” she added. “That has taught me a lot about where I want to go and I really cherish that.”