Claire Danes Couldn’t Stand The Social Politics Of Junior High | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

reading about your life which fascinates. me because I know at a very early age. you know you come from a very artistic. family and you come from a family that. was very it feels like open I mean. you're living in the are you living in. the village where are you living in SoHo. in so on a loft yeah my parents were. were visual artists and they moved to. the bowy in late 60s and then um bought. a loft building on Crosby Street with. another couple for literally like.

like I mean just a shockingly stuff that. makes people angry today Furious I. bought this house for $1,100 murderous. um yeah but uh so yeah and I I mean the. factories were were shutting down all. around me and being transformed into. these artist Studios and you had to. actually legally prove that you were an. artist to live there at the time it was. um but anyway so yes it was a funny way. to live and um and very permissive uh of.

in a lot of ways but nobody you know. nobody around me was involved with the. Performing Arts and actually it was only. until I did that show Finding Your Roots. When I learned that my paternal. grandmother who I never knew and. actually died when my dad was 10 and her. name is Claire J um um named after like. she apparently got a masters in the role. of dance and Shakespearean drama and had. acted and directed in plays and um and I.

was kind of stunned by that cuz there. was no indication of of this being. anywhere in the Jean Pool yeah I don't I. don't come from I come from Dad's a. research scientist my mom was a lawyer. and then I go back before that and my. grandfather's a policeman and my you. know just you're I look around and I. keep thinking is there where if I go. back 200 years is there a vilo dummy. must been there must have been like. there must be a picture somewhere of a. guy with like puffy hair who's making an.

ass of himself being and chased by angry. people um but I heard that you early on. you were interested in mimicking is that. true yeah so my first memory of acting. was when I was in pre- nursery school. and I was must have been like three or. four yeah and slow was my teacher she. was Indian and I loved her and it was. nap time and I I was a terrible Napper I. am still a terrible Napper but I'm also. you know I was also like a total.

obsequious like people pleasing person. which I you know still am so anyway so I. wanted to convince her that I was. sleeping and I was doing my best. impression of a sleeping uh tiny child. and I i' I'd remembered that my mom had. twitched in her sleep and so I was doing. this I was trying to do this twitch and. I thought oh yeah yeah yeah that's good. that's really subtle that's super. nuanced she's never gonna know that I am. not unconscious yeah no I mean and. actually.

draw this this but but that was the that. was the feeling that I was really. working on the Vera similitude you know. um and I do think that that's just an. innate impulse that we have and I I. don't know I think I was just always. really really curious about the human. experience and wanting to you know kind. of make the most sense of it that I. could and just reflect on it you know.

that's uh it's it's interesting too that. you mentioned your parents and I would. think not even knowing them or knowing. about them I would give them credit for. the fact that you have your head on your. shoulders you've made such good. decisions and I think being famous when. you're 13 14 and I know even at the time. I've read quotes of yours from the time. 14 15 you're very thoughtful about it. and you're trying to parse it and figure. it out you're not saying get me a. stretch limo right uh let's go three.

times around the park and I I want to it. was a very intense transition into the. world of entertainment and we were all. so. naive um you know I got this show my so. I mean I I knew that I wanted to explore. this acting thing my parents kind of. thought okay it's another after school. activity like piano or dance or whatever. it was and um and I just started kind of. hustling like I found this junior Arts.

uh junior um Junior High School the for. performing arts program and I went to. Lee strawberg and I went to HB Studios. but this was all my. own um uh my by my own making and they. didn't interfere but you know and but. and they were generally supportive but I. would just rollerblade from audition to. audition you know I would like get some. jobs and that eventually materialized in. to a career to all of our total.

astonishment yeah and then we were on a. plane uh my brother is 7 years older so. he was at College at this point and we. kind of had the the latitude to do that. uh my dad's business was he was a. contractor that was kind of naturally. ending and um we were available to this. experience thank goodness like together. as a unit um but we were deposited in La. it was like the day after that massive. Earth quake in.

94 and so there were actual aftershot. like the ground was shaking was just an. absurd absurdly apt metaphor for La Was. preparing for you exactly at the time. there were a lot of seismologist at the. time that said a major Talent has landed. in LA and we think that's responsible it. was a bizarre correlation um and yeah. took we were you know uh bewildered and. just kind of.

attempting to not look like total idiots. you know for a few years um but no I. totally credit them with um whatever. kind of orientation I ended up. maintaining and my mom was always with. me on set and you know they were not. stage parents in any way we didn't even. know how to like pretend you know that. that was well I was around it because I. was around stage parents because we were. routinely booking kids to play you know.

we never used real people on the show so. whenever I brought my mom out it was. always a different actress whenever I. brought like yes yes we always I I made. a point of making sure that we had this. kind ofv fake peewee's Playhouse version. of reality but you know my son would. come on the set when I didn't even have. a son and he'd have a little red. as if they had been hit with cattle.

prods and they would say Mr O'Brien I. wish to tell you that you have. transformed late night and you have made. a. generational impact and i' look behind. them and see the parent staring at them. like we practiced this all night this. you go say toan and I would. feel terrible you feel terrible about it. um they all went on to be very famous um. that was Ben Affleck anyway uh no I'm. kidding um but but it was just.

incredible. that uh I think it's the exception that. proves the rule and I think the fact. that you were very Nu you were. thoughtful and your parents were. thoughtful and then you decide I need to. get an education yeah well my parents. were always adamant that you know I be. tutored on set I mean that was a a very. real priority and they didn't have to. impose that on me either like that was. something I wanted to um uh remain.

involved with and then yeah and I think. I was I got a little I did get a little. dizzy and overwhelmed at a certain point. um and was being given a lot of. opportunity and didn't quite know how to. channel that focus it you know and um. you know I didn't have a filter yet that. I kind of needed to establish yeah um.

in a safer place like. a you know a campus um and I was a. little lonely you know I I I mean. initially I was so relieved to be. jettisoned out of the hell of junior. high and and high school was it was it a. hell yeah I think it was going to get. less hellish um because I was I was. moving through high school and I think. kids just get increasingly more or less. desperate and cruel um you're getting. bullied.

yeah I had a really hard time in Middle. School um what do you think that. bullying was about or do you remember. well there was a few things I I mean I. went to a few different schools for. funny reasons it's not like I I was. always living in the same place but you. know I had a teacher that my mom wasn't. that thrilled by or I I don't know there. was always a reason to to try out a. different school so I was often the new. girl and sort of. conspicuous and a little targeted for.

that reason but I also was just like. very sensitive to the injustices that. would were often on display and and and. couldn't help but I don't know um kind. of take the bait and. and um I don't know the the politics. made me insane the social politics um. and yeah so I think I had like I wasn't.

strictly bullied but I was I was. vulnerable and I was also I really liked. learning you know I was nerdy and kind. of didn't get the memo that you're. supposed to pretend that you're not so. engaged and curious at a certain point. as a girl um so my hand remained very. like high in the air you know oo oo um. uh and I yeah I think I got punished but. CL any answer this question think I was.

legit annoying too I mean I I I think. that was fair um but I don't know and um. yeah there was always like a girl I. changed three I went to three different. junior high schools and there was the. same prototype Arch type archetypical. girl who was crazy smart and very. troubled and decided that I was somebody. that they were going to you know make. very unhappy.

um and they just kept like materializing. I wish I had known there's so many. things you wish that you knew uh you. could go back in time and tell the. younger you and I would just the one. thing I would tell the younger me is. when people are really mean to you or. bullying you it's because they're. miserable I think that would have helped. me somewh I think I kind of knew that. but but it didn't it didn't it wasn't. much of a tonic like you're still stuck. and once that once that Dynamic is in. play you're sort of screwed cuz you're.

just in a cage like there's nowhere to. go right um and um yeah like it's funny. I've my son now is 10 and so he's. starting to enter that point and he is. he's such a wonderful tender clever. goofball like he's but and I see all of. his kind of vulnerability and but it's. funny cuz a mom from the school texted. me about her son being aware of some.

bullying that was happening in his grade. and but Cyrus is just sort of like. oblivious or or just not very moved by. it you know and and and her son was you. know and and I was like oh gosh I I was. your son you know and I'm so grateful. that my son isn't you know like it's a. kind of amazing defense to just not. really care once you have kids the. notion that would not be nice to them.

hurts more than anything else in the. world my God it's brutal although I my. four-year-old son. Rowan like he could be a he could go the. bully route like I'm. I'm know but it's like I'm terrified. that my older son might be bullied and. I'm terrified that my younger son might. be the bully and so it's um it's good to. have one of each people most people. think that having one of each means a. boy and a girl it's like no no I have a. bully and I have someone who is bully.

done it both but I'm glad they were born. in that order because it would be really. problematic if it was reversed um and I. think we just worry you know for what. you know it doesn't take much to yeah. yeah.