Mortimer’s crisis of confidence

Emily Mortimer felt like an alien when she first arrived in Los Angeles, said Will Pavia in The Times (U.K.). The British actress found that her self-depreciating sense of humor was not acceptable in Hollywood’s culture of relentless self-promotion. “I remember at a party when I was first there someone saying, ‘You’re an actress?’ and me saying, ‘Yes, but not a very good one,’ because I felt embarrassed. I hadn’t done anything, really. But he looked so totally horrified, it was as though I’d said, ‘I eat babies’ or something.” Mortimer, 41, is now an established actress, thanks to her role in the hit TV show The Newsroom. But she still doubts her abilities. “I’m probably far too self-conscious to be an actress.” She says she spends most of her working days “just saying the f---ing lines over and over, and walking out of the trailer just hoping it’s going to stay in your head until you get to the set, and you almost [think that] if you move your head a little bit it might fall out of one ear. So you just walk very straight and hope that no one talks to you until you get there and you say it.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up