Elisabeth Moss Gets Candid About Being Guarded in Real Life

Elisabeth Moss is featured in a new story for Harper’s Bazaar‘s February 2020 issue, out on newsstands on January 21.

Here’s what the Handmaid’s Tale star had to say…

On being able to separate her work from her personal life: “I find that I’m very, very good at, like, I guess some people would call it compartmentalizing. I’m really good at turning it off, going home and texting my friends, having a glass of wine, and putting it aside. It’s not unconscious. I need to be able to do that to treat my work with joy and enthusiasm.”

On being guarded in real life: “You have to be careful. Once the information is out there, you can’t take it back. Broadcast News is one of my favorite movies, and she’s [Holly Hunter] one of the coolest people, but I don’t know anything about her. I think she lives in New York? Meryl Streep does it well. I was listening to an Oprah podcast where she was interviewing Julia Roberts, and here you have arguably the biggest female star in the world, and she has managed to maintain a good amount of privacy. I don’t think it has to do with your level of stardom but in how you conduct your life.”

On understanding the fascination with celebrity lives: “I totally understand why people want to know that stuff. I see a story about Olivia Colman, who I love, and I want to devour it. I dissect it like, ‘Where does she live? What does her kitchen look like?’ I want to see Olivia’s kitchen. But I never want to get to the point where someone’s watching something I’m doing and thinking about what my kitchen looks like.”

For more from Elisabeth, head to HarpersBazaar.com.