Calista Flockhart on Dealing With Sudden ‘Ally McBeal’ Fame: “I Stopped Leaving My House”

Calista Flockhart

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Calista Flockhart is opening up about her titular role in the hit ’90s show Ally McBeal.

In a conversation for The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast, the Feud: Capote vs. The Swans star discussed how her quick rise to fame thanks to Ally McBeal changed her daily life.

Flockhart, who was in a play at the time, recalled flying to Los Angeles during the audition process for Ally McBeal, noting that her co-star Jane Krakowski happened to be on the same flight. “I always remember it was a whole room of people in suits, and there was no camera, there was no makeup … It kind of felt like a theater audition. It felt like I was in a play all of a sudden,” she said about the process.

After getting the part and the show premiering, Flockhart realized Ally McBeal was finding its audience. “I realized that this was really cool, that people were watching it and talking about it, and then people started debating about it. I mean, it was amazing,” she said. “That’s the goal, right?”

However, the actress also began to experience a gradual change in her personal life that is often associated with leading a popular television show. Flockhart noted she felt like she was losing anonymity and privacy, and she had to suddenly start dealing with paparazzi.

“At the risk of sounding like I’m whining, the paparazzi truly did follow me everywhere I went,” the actress said, explaining it took her time to get used to it. “Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever really adjusted to the paparazzi.”

Flockhart said she began to associate seeing paparazzi with the expectation there would be a negative article about her. The actress explained that the change took a toll on her mental health. “I decided the only thing that I could do was stay inside, so I stopped leaving my apartment,” Flockhart said.

“I stopped leaving my house. I stopped going out, and I was isolated,” she continued. “I think that … I don’t want to go so far as saying that I was depressed, but it was hard. It was challenging.”

Flockhart also touched upon what her life would’ve been like had she not done Ally McBeal (she initially gave a “no” when she first learned about the project). “I probably would’ve stayed in New York doing a lot of theater, and hopefully I would’ve started a family, and hopefully I would’ve eventually found a TV show or found a movie or something,” the actress said. “I mean, I think I would’ve kept acting.”