There was a time when we began to wonder what ever happened to Claire Danes? At one moment she was the hottest upcoming actress in Hollywood, and the next, a disappearing act. Born in 1979 in New York City, Claire was encouraged to become involved in the arts at a young age, and so, at nine years old, Claire enrolled at the Lee Strasberg drama school. After only four short years, Claire was already landing roles in guest spots on hit TV series, and was even offered a role in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” Instead of taking the part, Claire opted for the lead in ABC’s “My So-Called Life,” but after one season, the series was cancelled. Before leaving the air, though, the series received four Emmy nominations and Claire picked up a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
The critical praise she received for the series also helped to make the jump to the big screen, and after making a number of supporting appearances, Claire landed the role of Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s strange imagining of the classic Shakespeare tale. Later roles in box office bombs like “The Mod Squad” and “Brokedown Palace” may have been the cause for her sudden drop off the Hollywood radar, but it’s more likely that her decision to take a break was spurred by her desire to attend college. After she received her degree from Yale University, Claire returned to the big screen with roles in the independent film “Igby Goes Down,” the award-winning “The Hours,” and “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.”
Iconic Character – Carrie Mathison on “Homeland”
Claire’s career hit its apex with her role as Carrie Mathison on Showtime’s “Homeland.” The show was a sensation in its first two seasons, with the intense storyline of a P.O.W. being turned by terrorists before being released back to his life in the United States. The cast was supurb, but everything revolved around Carrie, one of television’s most complex, intense and memorable characters. She was basically nuts, which is an insenstive but accurate way of describing this charismatic character who suffered from bipolar disorder. But this plot device allowed the writers to push the envelope on the lengths Carrie would go to do her job. Carrie was brilliant, fiercely dedicated, and relentless in her pursuit of threats to national security. She wasn’t shy about taking huge chances based on her intuition, and she was willing to bend or break rules. Claire played this role brilliantly, particularly Carrie’s crazy intenity.
Claire Danes on the Screen
Claire was thrust into the public eye with the critical success of “My So-Called Life,” but after the series was unjustly cancelled, she made the jump to film. After a smaller role in the “Home For the Holidays,” she starred in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “Romeo + Juliet,” and a series of other average mid-90’s films like “The Rainmaker” and “The Mod Squad.” Claire disappeared from the scene for a few years before reappearing after the new millennium in arthouse flicks like “Igby Goes Down” and “The Hours.”
Claire Says
On her creativity:
“I have a huge, active imagination, [and] I think I’m really scared of being alone; because if I’m left to my own devices, I’ll just turn into a madwoman.”
On who knows what:
“I’m an illegal alien and have been for many years. If you rub my skin, I go green.”
On her life:
“Well, I have been married twice and I have died twice on-screen. I have lived quite a life at the tender age of 17.”