Do you believe "cool" celebrities who claim they never wanted to be famous?

All ever I wanted to be was a mother and house wife and have a small home in valley with a picket fence. Gee what went wrong?

The upside to celebrities and making it in Hollywood is the money, the good roles that you get offered, and having a great lifestyle. The downside is the public scrutiny and the difficulty in trying to live a private life for you and your family. Fame has a double side blade.

[quote]Auditioning and networking is hard work, and you need a thick skin to get through it. They probably fought like hell to get to the top

You could say this about most competitive careers.

[quote]River Phoenix

He was raised in a cult and went from busking for money to working as a child actor who supported his whole family.

[quote]Winona Ryder

She has appeared on only a handful of late night talk shows since the 80s. No People or US magazine covers, no self-promotion on social media, etc. suggests she lacks interest in fame. I think the Polly Klass kidnapping is the only time she sought public attention.

[quote]Matt Dillon

The Cameron Diaz years are the only time I remember him being in the spotlight.

Don't believe it.

R3 does a great job of explaining why it's not probably the case with those three, OP.

Your premise is one that I believe in, though. I think Johnny has thoroughly enjoyed his fame from the very beginning, for example.

Nah, most of them actively sought fame

I didn't necessarily want to be famous. I just wanted awards.

The ones who meant it became nuns or something

Madonna once made a comment on fame:

(I'm paraphrasing here} "Before you're famous, you have to more or less stand on your head to get people to notice you. After you're famous you have to hire security to keep people away from you."

I'd believe it if Alec Guinness or one of the older cast of Harry Potter said it. Those people who spent most of their lives in theatre but ended up in a famous movie or role have a leg to stand on. I believe 1,000% Judy Davis never wanted to be famous. Then again, not many of those actors are "cool". The ones who made it as movie stars through slog, nup.

Then again, if you're not gorgeous to look at and you don't do "famous-person" things, fame probably doesn't interfere that much with your everyday life, particularly if you don't stay in LA. You don't hear Gary Oldman protesting about how fame has destroyed his life.

I'd like to be Timothy Olyphant level famous. Constantly working and recognizable, but not needing a bodyguard.