Jonah Hill says instant fame was scary for him
Los Angeles, May 3
Hollywood actor Jonah Hill has shared it was "scary" to experience fame. The 42-year-old actor became a household name following his breakout role as high school senior Seth in 'Superbad'.
While the sudden attention he and his co-star Michael Cera received could be "exciting", he also found it uncomfortable, reports 'Female First UK'.
Speaking during a special Sirius XM-hosted live taping of the Smartless podcast, Jonah said, "It was psycho. (Michael and I) couldn't walk around and it was so exciting and kind of scary".
Fans struggled to separate Jonah and Michael from their characters in the film, so they would always attract attention.
He said, "Our lives were like that movie and people would see us and they'd freak out because it's like we walked off the screen into the world".
As per 'Female First UK', the duo stuck to a routine to keep life as normal as possible, walking to a nearby deli together every day, but Jonah admitted the experience made it hard to stay grounded.
He said, "It's impossible not to become a weird person". The actor revealed during the recording he and wife Olivia Millar left Los Angeles three years ago because they wanted to raise their children outside of Hollywood.
He said, "So I live in a very small town in San Diego, and it's amazing, and my neighbours are incredible people. And when we had our first kid, we moved out there three years ago. I wanted to leave LA and raise a family outside of Los Angeles".
Jonah, who recently welcomed his second child into the world, has still been able to travel back and forth for work, but he's appreciated being away from the Hollywood bubble.
He added, "(My neighbours) never treat me weird or ask me about my job or anything. And my neighbour is one of my great friends, Dr. Sean, he never asked. He's here tonight. He never bothered me or was like, 'Oh, what's this person like?'".
The actor has fond memories growing up in LA around freedom and punk rock culture.
— IANS
Reader Comments
"It's impossible not to become a weird person" - that's so true! Even our own film stars struggle with this. But living in a small town with normal neighbours who don't ask about work? That sounds like paradise. Good for him.
Fame at a young age can be really tough. In India, we've seen child actors struggle with this too. The way he talks about people confusing him with his character reminds me of how some of our actors get typecast.
I appreciate his honesty. It's easy to get caught up in the glamour, but choosing a peaceful life for your family is commendable. Even in our own industry, we see stars moving away from Mumbai to quieter places.
That's refreshing to hear from a Hollywood star. In India, we often see actors complaining about how fame affects them, but rarely do they talk about moving away to normalise life. Respect for choosing family over the glitz.
It must be tough when fans can't separate the actor from the character. But that's the price of being a great actor, na? Still, choosing a small town in San Diego over LA shows he values normalcy. Good for him.
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