28
Fresh off her first Oscar and Tony nominations, the actor was finally coming into her own.
Toni Collette is a consummate shapeshifter, equally believable asHereditarys tormented, grieving motherandKnives Outs fraudster with vocal fry.
But back in 2000, a 28-year-old Collette was just beginning to find her power.
Shed already made it a long way from her childhood home in a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Easier said than done.
Something like, It’s okay to be good at something.
It’s all okay.
Just enjoy your life.
Below, Collette looks back onpartying at Pastis and working with a young Nicholas Hoult onAbout a Boy.
Take me back to 2000, when you were 28.
What did your life look like?
It was just so bonkers.
I just felt so excited to be alive.
I couldn’t believe what was happening.
What was a typical night out in Manhattan like for you?
I partied a lot more than I do now.
That was around the time that the original Pastis opened…
I’m romanticizing it a bit probably, but it really was very fun.
I had a bunch of friends in the city and it just felt like everyone moved around in groups.
Bunches of us would hop in cabs and go from one venue to the next, to the next.
Do you have a lot of friends who you’ve stayed close with from that time?
What did you learn about yourself and the life you wanted to live?
I think I just became a little more aware that it was okay to pursue [acting].
I’ve never been particularly ambitious.
I often felt really embarrassed to say that I was an actor.
I could actually celebrate it.
I could actually enjoy it.
So it has taken me a long time, but I’m there now.
I feel very balanced and I feel much more comfortable in myself.
I think it had to do with just how comfortable I wasn’t in myself, actually.
It was the beginning of learning to be open to knowing myself in any real deep way.
There’s no avoiding yourself.
And I think up until then, maybe I was trying to do that.
It wasn’t me, and so it was safe in that way.
That year, you filmedAbout a Boy.
What was that set like?
I just felt ripped off.
I was like, what?
Everyone else is having fun here; I’m the suicidal lady.
What the f*ck?
But I knew it was a really great film.
He’s so talented.
I love watching him grow and become who he is and get better and better at what he does.
He’s such a sweetheart.
And with Hugh [Grant], at the time, Hugh was so jaded.
He just did not enjoy filmmaking at all.
Watching him dance inPaddington 2 honestly, when I saw that, it made me so happy.
What do you think your 28-year-old self would think of you now?
I think she’d be pretty happy.
I’m pretty happy.
I mean, I feel really more content than I’ve ever felt.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
