Helen Hunt: I became very boring after finding fame
Helen Hunt became "very boring" after finding fame.
The 59-year-old actress became known around the world when she starred opposite Jack Nicholson in the 1997 romcom 'As Good As It Gets' and became "spooked" by the media intrusion that followed.
She said: "There were a couple of years when I was a little spooked. I was afraid that I could never unring that bell. I just became very boring."
The 'Mad About You' star - who has daughter Makena Lei, 18, from a previous relationship with Matthew Carnahan and was also once married to 'Simpsons' voice actor Hank Azaria - went on to explain that other celebrities "keep going" at an intense level of fame but admitted that kind of life is "worth nothing" to her these days.
She told The Guardian newspaper: "There are some people who will live more exciting lives and keep going at that level – and it’s their whole life, wherever they go, forever. But I think by the 130th picture of me in my khaki pants with my yoga mat, that picture’s worth nothing!"
These days, Helen is gearing up to star in ' Eureka Day' at the Old Vic in London, a play that deals with the story of a mumps outbreak and questions the notions of mandatory vaccines, which Helen describes as a "daring topic" following the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said: "It’s daring to put its finger on a tricky topic. It’s a play about coming apart. [About] what’s happening in so many places, certainly in my country, and I guess your country. And the wish to come together, and the increasing difficulty [in doing so], especially when things get very real."
Helen - whose father Gordon passed away in 2016 at the age of 87 due to complications with Parkinson's disease - added that she "always thinks" of the late director when she does a play because of how "excited" he felt in a theatre.
She said: "Every time I see a play I think of him, because he was always so excited when the lights began to go down. And I am, too."
'Eureka Day' is set to run at the Old Vic in London from 6 - 31 October.
