Christina Ricci is recalling what she “dreaded” most on set as a child actress.
The “Yellowjackets” star made her film debut in 1990 at age nine in “Mermaids.” She went on to lead iconic films such as “Sleepy Hollow,” “The Addams Family,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “The Sixth Sense,” and “Casper” as a teen before continuing her career into adulthood with “Monster,” “Black Snake Moan,” and more.
Ricci, who is now receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, told Variety that growing up in the spotlight came with its downsides, namely being told “what was wrong” with her during camera tests.
“I hated fittings and I hated camera-test days because I knew those were the days when everyone would look at me and talk about what was wrong with me, with my appearance and what they needed to fix,” Ricci said. “‘We can’t ever shoot her from this side.’ Those kinds of things growing up I did not enjoy. I remember just dreading those days.”
She continued, “But I didn’t have anything horrible happen to me really. The little kind of developmental things and problems I was taught that weren’t healthy for me, I have been able to sort of work through and get through. The film industry, it sort of rescued me from a childhood that was not very nice and a family that was not very safe. So to be able to escape and do this thing where I was totally safe when I was getting validation from adults, and it was based on a skill that I had that was special, I think really, really saved me.”
The “Wednesday” alum added that she did not have to endure any MeToo moments during her career.
“I was really lucky in that I never had any heinous things happen to me, and nobody ever tried to take advantage of me sexually,” Ricci said. “I was exposed to a few jerks, but for the most part, I was aware enough to understand that those people were being jerks and it had nothing to do with me.”
Ricci explained that it is the learning curve of being a child on set that could lead to being “manipulated” as an actor later.
“There’s all the little things when you’re young that I think are difficult [for] children. For instance, when you work on a film, you are never as important as the product that’s being made. So as an adult, we choose to put our needs to the side. But as a child, to learn that you always come second and your needs and emotions and your physical well-being come second, I think that is a difficult thing for a child,” she said. “As a child, you’re still developing your ego and sense of self. And so sometimes that ‘coming second’ thing becomes too much a part of who the child is. I think that can be really dangerous and make you vulnerable to being taken advantage of and manipulated as you get older.”
Ricci concluded, “I’ve been doing this my whole life. I’ve gone through all of these personal changes and personal growth while I have been continuing with my career. There were certainly times, especially when I was younger, that I just was so disenfranchised with everything and also with being an actress. I will say that I do watch some films from that time in my life and I’m not really very good because I was not trying very hard. And as I got older, I really started to understand the value in acting for me, that I could put so much into it that would actually help me as a human being.”
