She’s set to win her second Oscar at tomorrow night’s ceremony, but Emma Stone had to overcome her demons to become the toast of Hollywood.
The 35-year-old actress has struggled throughout her life with anxiety, bouts of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and poor health in her 20s, forcing her to take a short break from film roles.
And as she still struggles with self-doubt, it’s hard to imagine her expecting her name to be announced as the Best Actress winner at the glitzy Beverly Hills ceremony.
Emma said: “I have impostor syndrome. I don’t think this is normal at all, and I don’t think it’s ever been normal. . . . I never feel like, ‘Oh, I knew this was going to happen.’ is.”
The category is a hotly contested one, with Emma up against Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone, Maestro’s Carey Mulligan, Nyad’s Annette Bening and Anatomy of a Fall’s Sandra Haller. .
But mum-of-one Emma is thought to be likely to win after winning at last month’s BAFTAs for her role as Vera Baxter in the offbeat comedy directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. movie award.
Growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona, Emma always dreamed of becoming an actress, despite her insecurities, telling her mother, Krista, at the age of seven, “If I couldn’t act, I would die.”
She rose to worldwide fame for her role as Gwen in the 2012 blockbuster superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel years later, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
However, after back-to-back filming in her mid-20s, the star felt “burned out” and considered quitting acting altogether.
“I was losing love”
She explained: She made four films and turned 25 that year.
“I felt like I was really burnt out and losing the love for what I was doing and what I wanted to do.
“I’ve seen people in my family do that. I’ve had people in my family who started businesses because they loved something, but if you do it too much, you’ll end up loving what you love.” I started quitting because it had become a job and it scared me.
“It was really scary. I was only 25, so I started to feel disillusioned and freaked out in a way. So I took some time out and ended up doing cabaret on stage, and it was… It reinvigorated my love for acting in general.”
Emma made her Broadway debut in the 2013 John Kander revival. fred Ebbs Cabaret caught the attention of film director Damien Chazelle, who asked her to play the role of Mia in La La Land.
Emma won her first Best Actress award for the hit 2016 musical, which also starred Ryan Gosling.
She has also been nominated for Birdman and The Favorite.
Despite her success and an estimated £31 million fortune, Emma lives a down-to-earth life in Austin, Texas, with her comedian husband Dave McCully, 38, and their two-year-old daughter Louise Jean. There is.
She said on the American podcast Shameless: I have an iPhone and it’s really cracked.
“I text on my phone, but I only type with my thumb. I don’t have social media.”
She still feels uncomfortable talking about her career, sometimes describing herself as “self-employed” rather than an actress.
She said: “Usually I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is a dress up job,’ but I always feel embarrassed to say it’s hard work, even if the days are long or difficult. , because it’s a very difficult job.” Fun work, fun work.
“But sometimes it’s a little embarrassing to say you’re an actor on the paperwork you fill out. I’m kind of ‘self-employed.’ ”
Emma has previously opened up about her long-term battle with OCD and anxiety.
I’m always embarrassed to say it’s hard work.
She says: “I actually have OCD issues, so when I was a kid I was obsessed with getting better grades on tests, report cards, anything that could be measured. For example, I played the flute and the band. In my class, I had to choose an instrument, but I wasn’t good at playing the flute.
“I can’t play the flute, but I tried to play it accurately, which is why I became the first chairman.”
Emma was only 6 years old when she was offered a role in a school play among a cast of 10-year-olds.
“I think my teacher recommended me because I was very loud and a die-hard performer, which was really hard because all the other kids were older. ”
“It was really cool. It felt really good.
“I vividly remember the first time I stood on stage. It was like heaven to me. It was just incredible.
mental health battle
“and, Next In 2017 I started having panic attacks.
“When I was a child, I had a very severe anxiety disorder and had a lot of panic attacks, and I was housebound for a few years, and I went to school, but I really struggled.
“I started therapy when I was a child and it has helped me overcome a lot.
“I asked to audition for youth theater, but my mother was very reticent because it was far away.” Our home But in the end, she said, “Okay, okay, you’re you, and I think it’s good that a daughter who is so worried wants to do something like this.”
“It’s like being a shy kid joining a debate team. An anxious kid acting out on stage. And that was it. For me, acting was and continues to be a form of meditation.
“It’s obviously different when you’re doing it professionally, and there’s pressure to perform in a way, but you also have to be present. It’s what you do when you do it, so it’s very calming when it’s difficult, especially when it’s difficult.”
I had a severe anxiety disorder as a child and had many panic attacks.
Emma’s parents, Jeff, the founder of a general contracting company, and her mother, Krista, a housewife, congratulated Emma on her desire to move to Los Angeles at the age of 15 to pursue acting.
In her acceptance speech at last month’s BAFTAs, Emma thanked her mother, saying: “My mother always made me believe in crazy ideas like this. It can be done,” he said.
She said on another podcast:
“And even trying to do this at this age, that was a huge push for me. I don’t think a lot of actors are in a position where they can feel the support of their families.”
Emma traded in a striking red to play Vera Baxter (a dead woman who comes back to life and receives a fetal brain transplant) in Poor Things hair She believes that her hair color played an important role in getting acting roles.
She explained: “I was born as a blonde. At the time, the roles I was auditioning for were all 15-year-old girls, and a lot of the roles were blonde cheerleaders, which didn’t really suit me, so I cut my hair. I thought it would look good if I dyed it brown. It would really differentiate me. After that, I couldn’t get any parts.”
However, after auditioning for the 2007 coming-of-age drama Superbad, director Greg Mottola encouraged her to become a redhead.
Emma said: “So I dyed her hair red and the rest…”. . ”
The rest is definitely history.
