Why Michelle Williams Won't Watch Her Own Movies

The 38-year-old actress has been nominated for Oscars for her performances in four movies.

By Corinne Heller Apr 10, 2019 2:30 PMTags
Michelle Williams, 2018 Met Gala, Red Carpet FashionsJohn Shearer/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter

Like many actors, Michelle Williams refuses to watch herself act onscreen.

The 38-year-old actress, who rose to fame with Dawson's Creek in the late '90s and was later nominated for Oscars for her performances in the films Brokeback MountainBlue Valentine, My Week with Marilyn, and Manchester by the Sea, explained her reasoning on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday.

"I love what I do, and I love being inside of it," she began. "And the experience of watching it takes me to the outside of the thing that I did, and my relationship with that is not as healthy."

"It makes me timid," she continued. "I'll judge myself and then I'll think I'm not capable of things, and then I won't take the next challenge that's in front of me."

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Host Stephen Colbert then screened a clip from her latest project, her leading role of Tony-winning actress and dancer Gwen Verdon in the FX miniseries Fosse/Verdon, which premiered that night and marks her big return to TV. The biographical drama also stars Sam Rockwell as the character's partner and Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning dancer, choreography and Cabaret director Bob Fosse.

"Wasn't she good?" he asked. "She was very good."