Emma Stone doesn't understand the perception of women as "rivals" in Hollywood.

Emma Stone

Emma Stone

Despite the 30-year-old actress playing Rachel Weisz's love rival in their upcoming film 'The Favourite' - a period drama set in the court of Queen Anne - she "finds it very strange" when people assume that she feels threatened by other actresses in Hollywood.

In an interview with the Guardian, she said: "I find it very strange, the narrative attached to women that they are in competition.

"I've felt more competitive energy from men - at least in work experiences. It's almost like sibling rivalry.

"Or perhaps there's something threatening about a woman asserting herself in that dynamic."

Rachel, 48, went on to explain that most of her friends in the industry are female, and admitted she also feels the idea of competitive women is a "trope" used to create fiction.

She continued: "Yeah, lots of my best friends are women, the idea of the competitive, bitchy woman is a traditional trope from Hollywood stories.

"The b***h, the vamp ... the list goes on. It's creating a fiction. Everything permeates into cliche. It's a safe place."

The 'La La Land' actress added: "And it's a cliché, because they're written by men. Mostly, women in films are fighting over a man."

The 'Mummy' actress then insisted that the idea of women fighting over a man exists for male "wish fulfilment" and the idea that an individual is so desirable it causes women to fight.

She said:"It's a wish-fulfilment fantasy of being hot and desirable and wanted by women so much that they're ready to kill each other. You can understand it, from that point of view."