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TheAlaska Dailystar opens up about her regrets and finding success so young.
Hilary Swank doesnt mince words when it comes to life in her late 20s.
I was shot out of a cannon into fame, the actor tells Bustle.
That’s what your twenties are really about, getting out there and experiencing everything in a larger way.
I wasn’t very good at having fun for a long time.
I was so driven, which you should be in your 20s.
In the years since, Swank, 48, has come to prize a healthy work-life balance.
These days, that means carving out a new niche playing hardscrabble journalists.
Both work and life, on her own terms.
Below, Swank discussesMillion Dollar Baby, biking to the Independent Spirit Awards, and her pet parrot.
Take me back to 2002, when you were 28.
When I was 28, I was about to doMillion Dollar Baby.
I wasn’t someone that people could easily define.
I was getting a lot of tomboy roles, a lot of sports roles.
Obviously,Million Dollar Babyfits right into that perfectly.
All the things that I felt in my twenties.
Finding success so young, did you ever feel the need to prove that it wasnt a fluke?
No, I think that’s a trap.
That’s a big, big trap.
But I think its something we fall prey to, particularly as women.
It’s the biggest thing that can happen to an actor.
And I think that’s when you get in trouble if you’re trying to match that.
You have to just remind yourself, I’m here because I love being a storyteller.
I love the nature of everything that goes into it and the research and stuff.
So I had to get back into the sandbox and just play.
Making movies in itself is a crapshoot.
The journey has got to be the reward and the experience, not the end game.
What did a typical Friday night look like for you?
It’s definitely not my thing.
I was also quite nerdy.
I had a parrot, I would knit, and I would go to craft shows.
It makes a nice, tart pie and put a little squeeze of lemon in it.
I need to hear more about this pet parrot.
My parrot’s name is Seuss, after Dr. Seuss.
I still have my parrot.
They live 80 to 90 years.
She’s about 30 years old, and she’s hilarious.
Do you have any regrets from being 28?
My regrets are from when I was shot out of a cannon [after winning my first Oscar].
So I was quickly put together in this way that didn’t reflect me.
A good example would be when I went to the Independent Spirit Awards forBoys Don’t Cry.
I was like, I’m just going to ride my bike down there.
They were like, “you might’t do that.
I put my foot down, and I did it.
What anindependent spirit!”
Has there been a moment in your career where you felt like youve made it?
And she said, Oh my gosh, Hilary Swank andBoys Don’t Cry."
I was like, “Sigourney Weaver knows who I am?!”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This article was originally published onOct.
