Actor Clea DuVall on being “shy and nervous”
Clea DuVall: “I keep to myself, but I love life.”
On the tv series “Heroes” she plays an assertive FBI agent, and has garnered acclaim for her dynamic acting in the series Carnivale, and many films including 21 Grams, The Laramie Project, and Girl, Interrupted – but Clea DuVall is candid about being introverted and sensitive:
“I’m an only child and I’m just a real loner kind of person, and yeah, kinda dark. But I’m happy. Not sad. I’m just shy and nervous.” [imdb.com]
In an interview [in 2000] about doing publicity for her films But I’m A Cheerleader, and Committed, Clea DuVall admitted, “That was my first photo shoot and I was so nervous. I was just nervous and shy and Matthew Lillard and Mary McCormick are just so outgoing and Brad Rowe and everybody else was getting along so well and I was just shy. I was just watching. I feel like I’ve gotten better and I’m not as in my shell as I used to be. I’ve gotten better at not making people feel uncomfortable with my shyness.” [28th Street, January 2000, posted on CleaDuVall.net]
And she has also said, “I was a loner in high school. I keep to myself, but I love life.” [tv.gen interview, unknown date]
Self-test for high sensitivity
On her site The Highly Sensitive Person, Elaine Aron [listed on the page High sensitivity resources] has a self-test for high sensitivity, which includes a number of items that Duvall and many other talented actors might agree with, such as:
* I have a rich,complex inner life.
* My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself.
* I am conscientious.
* I startle easily.
* I notice and enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, works of art.
* I am bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises or chaotic scenes.
* When I was a child, my parents or teachers seemed to see me as sensitive or shy.
A number of these characteristics seem to be common for many of us who are sensitive – but they are also qualities that can be real assets for actors and other artists.
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Technorati tags: gifted adults . acting . Clea DuVall . highly sensitive . anxiety
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Shyness and introversion may seem to be the same in some ways, at least on the surface.
They can overlap, and we may have both traits – but they are not the same thing. And they are not the same as the trait of high sensitivity.
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