There was a moment when Elizabeth Banks realized why she felt stalled in her acting career. Mainstream films weren’t providing her interesting roles, and smaller, independent fare wasn’t paying much. And Banks’ male colleagues were rising to stardom with apparent ease. Then, as Banks told The New York Times, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media published research on the lack of women in film, onscreen and off. Suddenly everything made sense.

“It was a great epiphany,” Banks recalled. “It told me that I was not the problem.” No, the problem was — and is — the system. As Banks explained, her friend and frequent co-star Paul Rudd receives “70 percent more at-bats” than she does, and consequently “has that many more chances to improve his quote.” Not to mention that “there’s a lot of material that stars men between the ages of 20 and 50. There is not that amount of material for all of us actresses.”

So Banks decided to get proactive and create better projects for herself and other women in Hollywood. She launched a production company, Brownstone, and eventually turned to directing — but, obviously, she never stopped acting. “There just became a moment where I was like, I need more control over all of this,” Banks explained.

That control has led to plenty of interesting projects for actresses such as the “Pitch Perfect” franchise and Melissa Leo-starrer “The Most Hated Woman in America.” Banks is also producing “White Girl Problems,” adapted from Babe Walker’s bestseller, a reboot of “Charlie’s Angels,” and an adaptation of the feminist fairy tale “Paper Bag Princess.” Banks will direct the latter two. She previously helmed “Pitch Perfect 2,” which grossed over $287 million worldwide.

“We don’t have to apologize for kicking a man’s butt,” Banks said of “Charlie’s Angels,” which she’ll also act in. “I am very ambitious for the project. I am down for ‘go big or go home.’”

You can catch Banks next as the snarky a cappella commentator Gail in “Pitch Perfect 3,” out this Friday, December 22. “Charlie’s Angels” is scheduled for a June 7, 2019 release.