Elizabeth Banks had “impostor syndrome for a long time”.
Elizabeth Banks has reflected on her career arc
The 52-year-old actress has admitted to feeling like a fraud during her early years in Hollywood – but having overcome her own self-doubts, Elizabeth is now looking forward to the future with optimism, despite uncertainty about where the film industry is heading.
Asked if there’s something specific she still wants to do in her career, the actress-turned-director told Variety: “The industry is changing so much — I find it a really interesting time to be an artist. I’m really interested to see where it’s all headed and happy to be on the ride.
“I had impostor syndrome for a long time, and now I’m like — you’ll get there too — this is actually my career. This is what I do for a living and I’m making a living at it and this is my life. I’ve calmed down into a sense that I know how to do it now. And I can see things in the future.
“I can see being 70 and being Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle and singing the Great American Songbook and telling jokes and entertaining people.”
Elizabeth hopes that she’s earned the trust of audiences, regardless of what she decides to do next in her career.
The actress said: “I’ve hopefully built up enough of a reputation of: If you watch me, I promise to entertain you. If you show up, I’ll show up.
“When you make that agreement with the audience, I now feel like my signature on that agreement means something.”
Despite this, Elizabeth insists she doesn’t take herself too seriously as an actress or as a director.
The Hollywood star – who has previously appeared in the Pitch Perfect and Hunger Games film franchises – explained: “I don’t take it too seriously, but I do think that I am part of a long tradition of storytellers that have handed down humanity — there’s a reason we still read the Greeks and Shakespeare.
“When we go to museums and look at the art, it’s the art that we pass down through the generations.”
