Keri Russell may be best known as a former teen star idolized by millions of teens in the late 90's, but now she's back and breaking new ground in her new indie hit film,
Waitress.
Russell faded from the Hollywood scene following the end of her hit television series, Felicity, in 2002. Having spent most of her young life in front of the cameras first in The New Mickey Mouse Club and later in Felicity, the actress was suffering from a severe case of burnout and needed a break from Hollywood. Now she's ready to return with a new husband, a baby on the way, and a hit new film with a tragic real-life backstory.
In the film, Russell portrays a pregnant waitress in a small Southern town who is try to save up enough money and courage to leave her abusive husband. With the help of some friends, an affair with her gynecologist, and a talent for making pies she finally finds her ticket out of her turbulent life.
Recently her former Felicity writer-director-producer J.J. Abrams interviewed the star about her new life, the film, and the upcoming arrival of their first child.
On burning out following Felicity:
"When Felicity was over, I moved to New York and just kind of acted like a kid for a year. I read books. I went out dancing. I got drunk. I walked home in the snow. Having time off just gave me perspective."
On have a life outside of her work:
"I think that now, because I'm a few years older, I just don't care as much about everything. When you're younger you want everyone to think you're so cool. That just doesn't matter to me as much anymore. I have this whole life outside of work."
On deciding to return to acting now:
"I just didn't know what I wanted to do. I was looking into colleges. I thought I might go back to school. I thought, I'll see if I can get into Sarah Lawrence. I'm interested in a lot of different things. I think there were a lot of things I could have done. But I didn't know that I wanted to work again until the right job came up."
On looking forward to becoming a mom herself:
"I've always known that I wanted to have kids, so it's not a hard idea for me. If anything, I'm surprised I even waited this long. I'd love to have more than one. But what I'm most excited about is just the idea of starting life."
On what she's doing in anticipation of becoming a parent:
"We just went to Bora Bora. We took this amazing trip together just because we said, 'Let's go this before --' not 'our life is over,' but you know. So we've been trying to do all these last-minute trips. And we've been reading. Not much else. It's been a really easy, natural process."
On if she'll let her kids act:
"Oh, Jesus. Not if they were a kid. No way. Look, I think I turned out okay. But, honestly, I think I'm the rare exception. Really, I just think that acting is a hard business. But that being said, the people who are great in this business are some of my favorite people in the world. They're interesting. They're emotional. They're very smart. I've met some great ones. But there's so much that comes with this business. Money and fame attracts so many different types of characters.
Source: Interview Magazine
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