Toni Collette raises concerns about women jogging at night

Toni Collette is furious women still have to think about their safety when jogging at night.

The 50-year-old ‘Hereditary’ actress – who has daughter Sage, 15, and son Arlo, 11, with her 44-year-old musician ex-husband Dave Galafassi – says she would “love” to exercise outside at 2am but won’t as you “have to really think twice” as a woman.

She told Glamour magazine in an interview to promote her new series ‘The Power’, about girls developing the terrifying killer power to emit electricity: “We sadly do have to f****** think about that. We always have had to do that. “I walk everywhere, all the time, I love it. It’s my favourite thing. It clears my head. I feel good in my body.

“I get to see the world up close and notice things that you don’t see when you’re moving faster.

“I would love to be able to go walking at 2am if I’m jet-lagged and can’t sleep, or if I’m up really early and want to go out before the light.

“But you have to really think twice as a woman.”

‘The Power’ sees a society develop in which women are the dominant sex, and Toni – who plays mayor of Seattle and mum-of-three Margot Cleary-Lopez on the Amazon Prime show – said the plot is a “metaphor for the inherent power we all have”.

She added: “It’s just that, historically and traditionally, boys and men have been encouraged to develop that power and nurture it. Girls and women haven’t.”

Toni also said about how the world has changed in the way women are viewed and treated: “I think people are very aware of what they can’t do, that certain behaviours are not acceptable!

“But different types of stories and opportunities have definitely opened up for women in the industry.

“We’re not just standing next to the guy for decoration, to look pretty, as an appendage of some kind, or as someone that needs saving.

“Thank God that’s over. That will never happen again. It’s been incredible really. There are some older films – don’t ask me which – that I watch with my kids, and I’m like, ‘Jesus Christ, that would not be made now.’ And it’s very recent. These changes are recent.”

Toni stars in Prime Video sci-fi series The Power now available to stream.

The series, based on the 2016 novel by Naomi Alderton, is set in a world where suddenly, without warning, all teenage girls develop the power to electrocute people at will.

In a key scene, Collette’s character Margot Cleary-Lopez, the mayor of Seattle, gives a risky but powerful speech, becoming one of the only politicians to tell the public the truth about the girls’ new power.

Collette said of filming the scene: “We’re working with really incredible material. I was actually a little bit nervous about that [scene], because it is an absolute pivot for the character and for the story.

“Because everyone’s trying to suppress this truth, this new evolution – it’s a serious change that’s affecting people, young females specifically, all around the world, with a knock-on effect of affecting everybody, society at large. And nobody is telling the truth about it.”

“I just find that moment very telling about my character, because she has so many responsibilities – she’s a mum and she’s married to this beautiful man and she’s the mayor of a city. And she’s suddenly thrust into this position of realising she’s the only one.

“You know, that moment of like, ‘Oh my god, I’m the one who has to step up and say this, I’m actually the truth teller here’. And it’s a big decision because you kind of have to let go of life as it was.

“I think the line is, life may not be – I can’t remember what it is. I’m not gonna try and paraphrase the wonderful writing, but it’ll never be the same. Basically, life will never be the same. So I did enjoy doing it and I was a little bit nervous about it as well.”

Alongside Collette the series also stars John Leguizamo, Auli’i Cravalho, Toheeb Jimoh, Eddie Marsan and many more.