Actor Chris O’Dowd Slams The Patriarchy: ‘Men Have Coasted Too Long in Power’

Actor Chris O’Dowd, who is received an Emmy nomination this year for his role in the British marital comedy series State of the Union, said in a recent interview that “men have coasted too long in power” and that the #MeToo movement will benefit both genders.

The Irish-born actor told The Guardian that a patriarchal society hurts both men and women.

“I feel a lot of men haven’t benefited either. I know that men have coasted too long in power – but come on! Having to be aggressive? Despising showing your feelings? All that’s hopeless,” O’Dowd said.

Chris O’Dowd added that the #MeToo movement will help men: “To be elevated above our protective side is going to be really good for men. Equality is going to be great for everybody.”

The actor received his first Emmy Award nomination this year for playing opposite Rosamund Pike as a couple going through therapy sessions. The short-form series airs in the U.S. on SundanceTV.

O’Dowd has been publicly critical of President Donald Trump, joining about 100,000 people last year in London to march in protest of the president’s U.K visit.

He has also mocked Trump on social media, comparing the president to a venereal disease.

“I’m struggling to remember what we all talked about before Trump. It’s like having a baby. Or gonorrhea.” the Cloverfield Paradox star said.

I'm struggling to remember what we all talked about before Trump. It's like having a baby. Or gonorrhea.

— chris o'dowd (@BigBoyler) February 9, 2017

O’Dowd rose to fame in the comedy movies Bridesmaids and This is 40. He later starred in the British sitcom The IT Crowd and the Epix series Get Shorty.

The actor spoke earlier about masculinity, telling Britain’s The Times last month about the damaging effects of patriarchal attitudes on men.

“One part of the conversation about the changing state of man that we have not fully talked about yet is how damaging the patriarchy has been to men -– and it’s a minefield to even say that.”

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