These actors can tell you that fame comes at a price. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most negative effects of celebrity that actors have experienced, as recounted by the actors themselves.
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00:00You've had this sort of long struggle with anxiety, haven't you?
00:03Yeah, it's, it feels like life or death.
00:06Welcome to Ms Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most negative effects
00:10of celebrity that actors have experienced, as recounted by the actors themselves.
00:16You pull back the curtain on childhood stardom. It is not a pretty picture.
00:20Not as I see it, no.
00:23Number 10. Kissed and Dunced
00:25It's not for everyone, but the, the ones that make it and like,
00:29love it still, I think we're, we're lucky that we got to start so young.
00:34Kissed and Dunced's Hollywood career began at a young age,
00:37but her breakthrough didn't come until 1994's Interview with the Vampire.
00:41Dunced enjoyed considerable success in her teens,
00:44but that high was followed by a devastating low in her twenties.
00:47The earth is evil.
00:51We don't need to grieve for it.
00:53During that period, the actress suffered from depression,
00:56which she revealed was partly due to societal expectations of celebrities
01:00and her own people-pleasing nature.
01:02In 2008, she sought treatment at the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Utah
01:06and managed to work through her condition with the help of medication.
01:09While she admits it is difficult to talk about mental health,
01:12she believes sharing her experience is important to remind everyone
01:16that no one is immune to such struggles.
01:19Be happy, please.
01:22If I dare, you can't do it.
01:26I'm happy you're happy.
01:29I wasn't allowed to be a human.
01:30I was a topic of conversation and gossip and punchlines.
01:35Since her breakout with the Transformers franchise in the late 2000s,
01:38Megan Fox has been constantly scrutinized by the press.
01:41A naturally shy individual,
01:43Fox struggled to adapt to this intense media exposure.
01:46My psychological type is not an introvert, but fame made me introverted.
01:50And if you're delicate or sensitive at all,
01:53I think it's a really hard thing to go through, and so…
01:55In a 2009 interview with GQ,
01:58she admitted that while she always craved the spotlight,
02:00she found it incredibly overwhelming when it finally arrived.
02:03Later on in 2013, she told Esquire magazine that fame felt like being a teenager again,
02:09constantly harassed by high school jerks, but this time on a global scale.
02:13Nowadays, Fox has learned to manage the pressure,
02:15and even find herself enjoying some aspects of fame.
02:19I think I'm so much better equipped now to
02:22deal with it and to experience it in a way where I can actually enjoy some of it.
02:26Number 8.
02:27Macaulay Culkin
02:28Many actors spend their entire careers without ever attaining global fame.
02:32Some are lucky to do so as adults, but only a rare few manage to achieve that as children.
02:37One notable example is Macaulay Culkin.
02:40Culkin became a household name thanks to the Home Alone film series.
02:47This is my house. I have to defend it.
02:50However, that level of fame came at a cost.
02:53Culkin's success reportedly made his father, who was also an actor, jealous of him.
02:57I haven't spoken to him in…
03:00Really?
03:00About a quarter of a century almost.
03:01Oh really? So that's the way that goes?
03:03Yeah, it's the way it goes. It's the way it has to be.
03:07A bitter dispute over control of Culkin's earnings further strained their relationship,
03:11causing the actor to remove his parents' names from his trust fund.
03:15Despite facing legal and personal challenges,
03:18Culkin has managed to create a happy life for himself,
03:20even if it means staying mostly out of the spotlight.
03:23There's so many people that I love.
03:25And to feel that love back is just amazing.
03:29So thank you.
03:30Number 7.
03:31Natalie Portman
03:321994's Leon the Professional served as Natalie Portman's breakthrough,
03:36but it sparked controversy for casting the then-child actress
03:39in a film with intense sexual and violent themes.
03:42Two years later, Portman followed that up with Beautiful Girls,
03:46playing a precocious young girl who develops feelings for an older man.
03:50You! You're my new boyfriend, really.
03:52You're up to it?
03:52Oh, I feel faint.
03:54These roles led to the actress being sexualized early on in her career.
03:58Portman had said that this robbed her of the liberty to define her own sexuality as she grew older.
04:03Being sexualized as a child, I think,
04:07took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid.
04:11To shield herself from the unwanted attention,
04:13Portman began avoiding similar roles, which was admittedly effective.
04:18However, she has stated that it left her
04:20feeling afraid to fully explore her identity at the time.
04:23It's a game I've never played.
04:25What a delightful mind you have.
04:28I hope the rest of you is just as interesting.
04:30No, please, you have to believe me.
04:31Number 6.
04:32Robert Pattinson
04:33Fame aspect doesn't really affect me that much.
04:36I've always just found that the main thing is to kind of not be recognized.
04:40The Twilight film series skyrocketed its lead actors into an extraordinary level of fame.
04:45For the very private Robert Pattinson, this boost was a mixed blessing.
04:49It was great for his career, but a nightmare for his personal life.
04:53This city is a labyrinth designed to mock me.
04:58No!
05:00Don't try to get out!
05:01The actor had to come up with creative ways to dodge the paparazzi,
05:05resorting to disguises, and even hiding in car trunks.
05:08The experience made him become more paranoid, wary of new people and their potential ulterior motives.
05:14I only said it'd be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be.
05:17What does that mean?
05:19It means if you were smart, you'd stay away from me.
05:23Pattinson's aversion to the media, overexposure,
05:26may have influenced his decision to step back from blockbusters after the Twilight
05:30franchise came to an end, choosing instead to focus on independent films for nearly a decade.
05:37He says that he sees you attaining Harrison Ford status in the next three or four years.
05:42I don't think, you know, I don't think anyone can attain Harrison Ford status.
05:46Being famous brings with it wealth, access to exclusive events,
05:49and entry into influential circles, among other perks.
05:53However, for some as recognizable as George Clooney,
05:56it can also mean losing the ability to lead a normal life.
06:00If I follow this correctly, who's that guy?
06:04Uh, Mr. Smitrovich takes pictures for our newsletter.
06:09Clooney has spoken openly about the limitations his fame has brought,
06:12which prevent him from enjoying everyday activities like taking a walk in Central Park.
06:16While he is grateful for the opportunity to do what he loves,
06:19he also recognizes the risks of getting too caught up in fame.
06:23You know what your problem is?
06:24I only have one.
06:25You've met too many people like you.
06:27This is probably why he and his family choose to live mainly in Italy and London,
06:32far away from the constant glare of Tinseltown.
06:344. Idris Elba
06:36For British actor Idris Elba,
06:38the worst part of being famous is how it tends to complicate personal relationships.
06:42Are you afraid of me?
06:44Yes.
06:44Why?
06:45You know why.
06:46In that respect, Elba has likened being a celebrity to the 1998 film The Truman Show,
06:52in which a man begins to question his reality after observing a series of strange occurrences.
06:57Similarly, Elba has found himself questioning people's intentions,
07:00especially in romantic relationships.
07:02You know it's a shame to let things go to waste.
07:09You know you can give away the man's clothes, but that don't make him gone, right?
07:14This left him paranoid about potential love interests and kept him single for a long time.
07:18Fortunately, despite his misgivings, Elba appeared to have found genuine love.
07:22He happened to end up, as I was leaving, grabbing the door of the cab.
07:26He was like, Sabrina, where are you going?
07:28I was like, that was it.
07:30And then that was it.
07:31It really did feel like destiny.
07:33In 2017, he began dating Canadian model Sabrina Dower, with whom he tied the knot two years later.
07:393. Amanda Seyfried
07:41I've always wanted to live on a farm.
07:42I just need to feel grounded somewhere that I can trust will always be there.
07:46Ever since she first came to prominence with the 2014 classic Mean Girls,
07:50Amanda Seyfried has risen steadily in both talent and fame.
07:54Watching her onscreen, you'd never suspect that the actress has dealt with anxiety
07:59and panic attacks for much of her life.
08:01It's so bizarre because it's physiological, but it is, it starts in your head.
08:06But it really never goes away, does it?
08:08It never goes away.
08:09Getting thrust into the spotlight only seems to have worsened the issues.
08:13During a 2021 appearance on The Today Show, Seyfried opened up about her condition,
08:18describing it as feeling like life or death, and something that simply never goes away.
08:23It feels like life or death.
08:25That's what a panic attack is, really.
08:27Your body just goes into fight or flight.
08:29Being a famous person has also made it difficult for her to connect with others,
08:33even though she sees herself as a normal individual.
08:362. Daniel Radcliffe
08:38Becoming one of the world's biggest actors at the age of 12 can be incredibly overwhelming.
08:43Daniel Radcliffe knows this all too well.
08:45Particularly with super rich, upper-class people who will just grab you like you are this.
08:51Come here, say hello to my friend.
08:53After landing the coveted role of Harry Potter,
08:56Radcliffe was thrust into the spotlight at a young age.
08:59The immense pressure from the movies led him to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism.
09:04In my case, the quickest way of forgetting about the fact that you were being watched
09:08was to get very drunk.
09:10And then as you get very drunk, you become aware that,
09:12oh, people are watching more now because now I'm getting very drunk.
09:15Radcliffe admitted that he drank to escape the constant public scrutiny,
09:19and this ultimately took a toll on his personal life.
09:22He also lamented the loss of normalcy,
09:24missing out on simple pleasures like dining out or going to the movies.
09:27Nevertheless, he remains grateful for his acting career,
09:30and views the pressures of fame as a small price to pay.
09:33The thing I'm so lucky about is that I love it,
09:35and I ultimately love the work, and that's the thing I'll always go back to.
09:49If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:55Number 1.
09:56Jeanette McCurdy
09:57For most of the other entries on this list,
09:59the pressures of fame have come mostly from strangers in the public.
10:02But Jeanette McCurdy's struggles came from a far more familiar source.
10:06Stardom was never your dream.
10:08Whose dream was it?
10:09My mom's.
10:10I think she wanted me to have a better life than she had,
10:15but I also think her approach was very unhealthy.
10:18In her 2022 memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died,
10:21McCurdy candidly discussed the heavy toll being a child star on the Nickelodeon shows
10:26iCarly and Sam & Cat took on her life.
10:29Much of this came from her overbearing mother.
10:31Felt like a lot of pressure.
10:33And then I think my mom saw my career as a way out of that life,
10:40of that way of living, of that constant grind.
10:42McCurdy's mom basically manipulated her throughout her life,
10:45pushing her into acting and enforcing strict diets to maintain a certain appearance.
10:49This caused the actress to develop eating disorders and body image issues.
10:53Her memoir became a bestseller and helped shed light on the darker side of child stardom.
10:58Why quit acting?
11:00It was important for my recovery at the time.
11:02It represented my mom living vicariously through me.
11:04It represented something that my mom wanted that I didn't want.
11:08Would you like to be famous someday?
11:10How would you handle the pressure of being in the spotlight?
11:13Let us know in the comments below.
11:14You don't have a right to ever feel sad or to not be, like,
11:18excited about the whole thing all the time.
11:21Do you agree with our picks?
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