Keri Russell Says Being a Celebrity is ‘Creepy’
What To Know
- Keri Russell describes both acting and the attention that comes with fame as “creepy,” expressing discomfort with the celebrity spotlight.
- She prioritizes building her life around her work, enjoying time at home with her family and seeking roles that allow for a healthy work-life balance.
- Russell, who began her career as a teenager, intentionally keeps her children away from show business and prefers meaningful roles over celebrity status.
Keri Russell has been a constant presence on TV for nearly three decades, transitioning from the earnest college years of Felicity to The Americans and, most recently, The Diplomat. Yet the part of the job she still can’t quite warm up to is the spotlight itself — as she put it in a new interview with The New Yorker, acting and fame are “so creepy.” When pressed on whether she meant the work or the attention, she replied, “Both.”
That ambivalence makes sense when you hear how she builds a life around the work, not the other way around. She admitted she loves to ride her bike around Brooklyn and plans long stretches of real time at home between seasons. After years of grinding network schedules, she loves the newer rhythm of shorter work sessions. “And then for six months you do laundry!” she joked, thrilled at the idea of putting energy back into “your life, or your relationship, or your kids, or your hobby.” Russell has three children, two with her ex-husband Shane Deary and one with her partner Matthew Rhys.
Liam Daniel/Netflix/Everett Collection
It all started back when the Colorado teenager wandered into a Disney casting call and ended up on The All New Mickey Mouse Club. Russell knows the “adultification” that can come with early success, and she has guarded her own kids from the business. The life of a celebrity never interested her as much as the work so she leans into more dramatic roles with better work-life balance. On The Americans, her trust with her costar and real-life partner Rhys allowed her to play Elizabeth Jennings with intensity. On The Diplomat, she leans into physical comedy and enjoys playing a messy but real character.
Which role of hers do you like best? Although she isn’t a fan of being in the spotlight, it seems she enjoys her career and will keep acting.
Remind 
February 2021
1990s Rom-Coms
Pop some popcorn and cozy up to feel-good movies and TV shows from a generation ago.
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