Zendaya says she is ‘learning how to balance’ keeping her life private
The 29-year-old actress reflected on living her life in the public eye.
Hollywood actress Zendaya said she is “learning how to balance” keeping parts of her life private despite being a public figure, adding: “I try to be honest to who I am when I am in public, but I also try to keep things for myself.”
In conversation with actor Robert Pattinson for Interview Magazine, the 29-year-old discussed living her life in the public eye and spoke about whether it makes it difficult for her to disappear into characters.
She said: “Something I admire about you (Pattinson) is you keep so much of your life to yourself, which is a beautiful thing, especially having a family.
“I’m learning how to balance those things. At the end of the day, you’re a public figure, there’s nothing you can do, but some things are meant for yourself and for your loved ones, and then also allowing for that space between the anonymity of you, so that you can play someone else and they won’t necessarily always put you in.
“I do try to have privacy, not just for characters, but for me in real life. I try to be honest to who I am when I am in public, but I also try to keep things for myself.”
The actress rose to fame aged 14 after starring in a series of Disney Channel sitcoms, and went on to star in HBO’s hit teen drama Euphoria- which shot her to global recognition and won her two Emmy Awards.
Zendaya is notoriously private, particularly regarding her relationship with her fiance, and Spider-Man co-star, actor Tom Holland.
Meanwhile, Pattinson, 39, rocketed to fame in his early 20s after starring as vampire heartthrob Edward Cullen in fantasy film series The Twilight Saga.
The actor told Zendaya that he initially found being in the public eye “quite strange”, and said: “When I was doing Twilight, there was such a cultural pushback against it, almost simultaneous to its success, so I kind of had to ride both things.
“I really enjoyed making the movies, but then there was such a huge marketing push behind it as well. I didn’t want to get my personal identity caught up in that, so I tried to push forward my individuality a little, and that kind of stuck with me. It was also interesting getting famous off of playing a part – people thought I was that character in the beginning.
“It was quite strange, but it also allowed me to push against it. Also, I wasn’t precious about that identity because it wasn’t my identity to begin with.”
He continued: “It’s interesting to use the public perception of you as part of your character development, because you’re like, ‘I assume at least a few people in the audience are going to be expecting this’ so you can make it more dramatic. But at the same time, you never really know what people are thinking.
“A lot of people are very protective of, ‘This is who I am, this is my identity’, and I’ve never really felt that.”
During the interview, the pair also discussed the most stereotypical “Hollywood thing” they do, and Zendaya said: “I’ve super-duper stayed to myself, and most of my core friends are my family and people who I’ve known since I was literally born.”
The actress added that in recent years she has made friends with other actors, and likes being able to talk to them about how life feels “so strange”.
