'I must sleep with all my actresses to mould them'

This is what filmmaker Roman Polanski had told Brit actress Charlotte Lewis, when she refused his advances

This is what filmmaker Roman Polanski had told Brit actress Charlotte Lewis, when she refused his advancesu00a0u00a0

The British actress who claims Roman Polanski "abused" her when she was 16 says the director told her he slept with all his leading ladies.

Scarred: Charlotte Lewis claimed on Friday that Polanski (right) abused her when she was 16. Pics/AP

Charlotte Lewis, who came forward about her history with Polanski at a press conference on Friday, told Daily Mail that she initially refused the director's advances when she met him in 1983 to audition for Pirates.

"He just said very coldly, 'If you're not a big-enough girl to have sex with me, you're not big enough to do the screen test. I must sleep with every actress that I work with, that's how I get to know them, how I mould them',"u00a0 Lewis said.

Though the 16-year-old left Polanski's Paris apartment claiming she had a boyfriend, she later returned and eventually won the role in Pirates.

Life-changing sum
"I never told my mother what had happened," Lewis said. "I was just too ashamed. I needed to do this movie, the money was goodu00a0- I was being paid ufffd1,200 (Rs 79,000) a month. My mother and I were living in housing association accommodation and this was a life-changing amount of money."

Lewis, now 42, says thatu00a0 she did not go the authorities at the time because she took the blame for what happened.

	Woody's support
	CANNES: Woody Allen has restated his support for fellow filmmaker Roman Polanski. Allen said Polanski "was embarrassed by the whole thing," "has suffered" and "has paid his dues." He said Polanski is "an artist and is a nice person" who "did something wrong and he paid for it."

"He sexually abused me and manipulated me in the worst way," she told the press. "He has scarred me and the experience has definitely put a strain on my life."

No forgiveness
Lewis now wants Polanski to "get what he deserves" and has given a statement to Los Angeles prosecutors outlining what happened that night.

"I'm telling the truth and Roman knows I'm telling the truth," she said. "I will never forgive Polanski for what he has done to me."

Lewis is most famous for her role opposite Eddie Murphy in The Golden Child in 1986.

Polanski is currently under house arrest in Switzlerland waiting to hear if he is extradited to the US to face charges for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977.