Can we talk about Michelle Pfeiffer's 'terrifying' social anxiety?

'I need to have my own private time and space to gather myself'

From the editors of InStyle US Words by Alicia Brunker

While Michelle Pfeiffer has always exuded a graceful exterior on the red carpet, interacting with reporters and posing for pictures, the obligations of her superstar status made her uneasy.

In a new interview with Net-a-Porter’s The Edit, the 59-year-old divulges to her Murder on the Orient Express co-star Olivia Colman about navigating fame while suffering from social anxiety. 'You learn how to move through the world; you become a little like a shark,' she says. 'If you just keep moving, people double take but you’re gone. At the beginning, it really terrified me.'

Movie premieres and various red carpet events are breeding grounds for uncomfortable small talk, which Pfeiffer admits is especially difficult for her. 'Sometimes when you’re in a social situation where you don’t know people really well, it feels a little like you’re being interviewed all the time,' she explains. 'It’s understandable, but somewhat exhausting.'

If it came down to an Oscar’s after party or a Netflix binge session, the actress would choose the latter without hesitation. 'I need to have my own private time and space to gather myself,' she confides. 'I can sit for hours just doing nothing, by myself.'

Keep doing you, Michelle!