The television series that launched Claire Danes into fame is one she believes “shouldn’t have been made.”
Claire Danes, known to many from the mid-90s to early 2000s, may be recognized for her role as Juliet alongside Leonardo DiCaprio’s Romeo in 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet,” or as Yvaine in 2007’s “Stardust.” More recently, her performance as Carrie Mathison in “Homeland” may be more familiar to viewers.
The show that marked the beginning of her career premiered in 1994, with Danes portraying 15-year-old Angela Chase navigating the challenges of adolescence. The series also featured Jared Leto, Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Devon Odessa, and Tom Irwin.
Critically acclaimed, the series earned Danes a Best Actress Golden Globe in 1995. Unfortunately, it was canceled after just one season. In a discussion with Amy Poehler on her podcast, “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” Danes elaborated on how the show’s themes made it so “radical,” often defying expectations.
“My So-Called Life” was celebrated for its realistic portrayal of adolescence and holds a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Poehler and Danes even revisited a memorable scene from the show on TikTok, where Chase and Jordan Catalano (played by Leto) walk hand-in-hand down a school corridor in anticipation of her podcast appearance.
Reflecting on the legacy of “My So-Called Life,” Danes noted: “It’s still radical! It remains ahead of this time. It shouldn’t have been made. It almost wasn’t made many times, and it just wills itself into experience. It’s not very often that we spend that much time, intimate time, with a teenage girl.”
Danes recalled her experience reading the pilot, authored by “Wicked” playwright, Winnie Holzman, before auditioning. She shared: “I remember reading the pilot before the audition and just having a very profound experience. It was really powerful to have some woman, some writer person, so perfectly articulate my internal life.”
Danes expressed her gratitude for “My So-Called Life” being her introduction to Hollywood, stating: “There’s some zingers, there are some really well-crafted lines. I feel wildly fortunate that that was my entry point.
“We’re seeing the world from inside of her and really through her vantage point. And she’s so earnestly wrestling with big stuff. It’s just so well-balanced and it’s so of her.”
In April of the previous year, Danes spoke about her pride in being part of “My So-Called Life” and collaborating with Holzman. During her speech at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Gala, she expressed: “Oh my God, how lucky was I? I was 13 when I shot that pilot.
“When I met this genius woman, this Cyrano, who wrote one perfect diary entry after another for me, who rescued me from the punishing halls of actual high school and transported me to the halls of self-reflection and art, of poetry and music.
“Who allowed me to be exactly as I felt I was not, who I was supposed to be, who I was supposed to see on TV.”