‘I didn’t know if I wanted to act anymore’: Keri Russell on how ‘Felicity’ is still, despite herself, a star 25 years later

Twenty-five years ago, Keri Russell received the first major award of her career. It was at the 1999 Golden Globes, and the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause when the camera focused on the star of Felicity, the defining series for young audiences at the time. The show followed a recent high school graduate who moves across the country to pursue her high school crush. Russell, who was just 22, was still remembered by many as the friendly face of The Mickey Mouse Club, which had also launched the careers of Britney Spears and Ryan Gosling.

At the Golden Globes, she was up against nominees like Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) and Julianna Margulies (ER), and few expected Russell to take home the award. “The look on presenter Michael J. Fox’s face said it all when he read Keri Russell’s name as the winner,” recalled journalist Joe Reid in Vulture. “It was that rarest and most beautiful moment: a true awards-show shocker.”

The win was not only a milestone for her promising career, but also a pivotal moment in awards history, opening the door for young actresses to be recognized for their work in series not aired on major U.S. networks. Actresses like Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Jessica Alba (Dark Angel), and Jennifer Garner (Alias) followed in her wake. With Felicity ultimately being named one of Time magazine’s 100 greatest TV series of all time, it seemed that Russell seemed set to become America’s next sweetheart. But it was not to be: Russell did not want to follow that path.

A quarter-century later, Russell still hasn’t received another major acting award. Despite numerous nominations over the years, the honor has remained elusive for someone who clearly doesn’t need the validation of trophies to affirm her status as one of the great actresses of this century. Public and critical support are evident, as seen in the reception of the second season of The Diplomat, where she plays the U.S. ambassador in London who must balance global crises with personal marital drama. The political drama has been hailed as one of the best series of 2024 by outlets like The Guardian, and upon its Netflix debut, it made its way into the top 10 most-watched shows in 87 countries. The show’s success sparked a viral reaction from fans, with many expressing frustration over the short six-episode season.

Russell’s decision to star in The Diplomat surprised many in the industry. Her partner and father of her third child — she has two children from her previous marriage to contractor Shane Deary, which ended in 2013 — Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, reveals that Russell is rarely enthusiastic about the scripts she receives. “She is naturally a very shy person, and to expose herself in that way day after day, I think she finds both taxing and challenging,” Rhys, who stars alongside Russell in the acclaimed The Americans — where they portrayed Soviet spies living undercover as an ordinary American couple during the Cold War — told Variety.

“I hate being watched,” explained Russell. “Oh my God, it’s the worst. I had to do two photo shoots last week, so I had to drink a beer. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to be watching me.’ It’s my nightmare.” The actress confessed: “I never want to work.”

Far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Russell enjoys a quieter life. She cherishes the ability to take her children to school in Manhattan and ride her bike to the set of The Diplomat. To say she is reserved by Hollywood standards is an understatement: she avoids social media and only appears at events to promote her movies or TV shows.

Her refusal to embrace public life nearly ended her career. When Felicity came to an end — following the infamous haircut that led network executives to demand approval of any new aesthetic changes — Russell retreated from Hollywood and disappeared from the media spotlight. “Burned out” after four years of 18-hour days shooting the series and seeing her face plastered across the walls of teenage bedrooms worldwide, she rented an apartment in New York. The only decoration was a mattress on the floor, and she spent two years away from anything related to her past life.

She felt “hounded” by photographers who camped out near her apartment in the West Village, and it began to take a toll on her mental health. “It made me withdraw and not want to be around crowds,” she said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to act anymore.” Instead, she decided to reclaim her lost adolescence on her own terms. “I acted like a kid,” said the actress. “I spent my days hanging out with friends. I went dancing until 2 a.m. I did all of the things that I had never done before. And it saved my life.”

She has worked non-stop since the age of 15 — when she debuted on The Mickey Mouse Club alongside future stars like Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Russell continues to wonder why she was chosen for the show. “I was literally the least talented one there,” she told W magazine. However, she is grateful to have emerged from her time as a Disney child star with “my sanity, my dignity” intact. “Not everyone got out alive,” she said.

Russell eventually returned to the stage in 2004, starring in Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, and resumed her Hollywood career. But despite starring in box-office hits like Mission: Impossible 3 and sharing the screen with industry giants like Kevin Costner (The Upside of Anger) and Mel Gibson (We Were Soldiers), she never found the roles that lived up to the early expectations set for her. By then, the roles offered were mostly limited to “nice pregnant girl” parts. “I certainly played a lot of nice moms for a long time. In my 20′s and 30′s, there was something about my face that screamed nice pregnant girl,” she said.

It wasn’t until The Americans that Russell’s “good girl” image would be turned on its head. That seemingly wholesome face became key to making even the most patriotic viewers empathize with her portrayal of a cold, ruthless Russian spy threatening national security. While it’s rare for an actor to land even one iconic character in their career, Russell — despite her reluctance to work — can now boast of having played three memorable characters in TV shows.

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