Claire Danes spent her teen years terrified of other kids, said Stuart McGurk in GQ (U.K.). Her fear started in junior high, where she was viciously bullied by a fellow student. “There was one girl who would get very excited about the idea of torturing me,” says the 33-year-old actress. “It was just agony. I developed a real phobia of people my age. Girls especially.” At age 14 she was cast in the TV show My So-Called Life, and was so lonely that she “would just sit on a sidewalk and look at other teenagers.” Her solitary existence ended at age 16, when a production assistant befriended her on a movie set. “She became a big sister and a wonderfully corrupting influence. She slapped me around a bit, and really encouraged me to get stupid.” In 1998, Danes took a break from acting and went to Yale, where she did all the rebellious things—getting drunk and partying—that she’d missed out on as a teenager. Danes only stayed two years, but says they were important ones. “I could have gone through life thinking that women were these venomous creatures. Turns out, they’re not.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
-
Why is the Trump administration talking about ‘Western civilization’?Talking Points Rubio says Europe, US bonded by religion and ancestry
-
Quentin Deranque: a student’s death energizes the French far rightIN THE SPOTLIGHT Reactions to the violent killing of an ultraconservative activist offer a glimpse at the culture wars roiling France ahead of next year’s elections
-
Secured vs. unsecured loans: how do they differ and which is better?the explainer They are distinguished by the level of risk and the inclusion of collateral
