I'm not shy. I have a strange sort of combination of awkwardness and confidence. I'm actually OK with awkward moments.
Zooey has recently been voted the most desriable woman in the world, President Obama is a huge fan and she boasts an impressive acting and music career. But, she still admits feeling like an outsider. Speaking to British Cosmpolitan, Zooey reveals:
"I've always felt like an outside and I still do when I go to fancy events. I'm still sit there and think, 'I don't belong here.' I feel like a kid at the adults' table 'like I'm an outsider who got let inside somehow. It's not a bad thing, it's just that I see everything differently. I take all the glitz and glamour of this business with a large grain of salt. I feel very removed from it. Not in a bad wat 'it's cool', I just don't feel a part of it."
Despite this, Zooey is comfortable with who she is saying,
"I'm not shy. I have a strange sort of combination of awkwardness and confidence. I'm actually OK with awkward moments. But it's not because I think I'm so great. I'm confident in things other than, like, my 'swagger'. I'm confident in my sense of humour. I'm comfortable in my skin."
She's also completely grounded and doesn't let Hollywood go to her head:
'I just think you go to something like the Golden Globes, and it's the most glamorous place you could ever be, but then you go home and you're still like, 'Urgh, this dress is too tight, I wanna take off these shoes and put on my pyjamas.'. At the end of the night all the glamour goes away and you're just a human. All of that stuff is put on, to a degree. It's always comforting to know that, no matter what, at the end of the night I'm always home in my pyjamas.'
Zooey's all for women supporting each other and believes there's more to life than pleasing men:
'It makes me sad [when girls are bitchy]. Girls get competitive, as though there's only one spot in the world for everything ' but that's not true. We need to stick together and see there's more to life than pleasing men. It's important not to cut yourself off from female friendships. I think sometimes girls get scared of other girls, but you need each other.'
Discussing her own friends, she admires Alexa Chung for her brains and sense of humour:
'We met through my friend [fellow actress and musician] Tennessee Thomas. She lives in New York, so when I'm out there I really like hanging out with those two gals. Alexa's so funny and clever. I don't know if I'd fit into [Alexa's clothes though]! She's like this amazing super-tall bean pole. She looks amazing in everything.'
In terms of her own style, Zooey doesn't limit herself to anything:
'I don't really have any rules but I do believe in wearing stuff that flatters my shape. I have an old-fashioned body because I'm small, and I have a little waist but I have hips ' I'm not like straight up and down. Things with shape look best on me; that's why I love vintage dresses. I don't like to limit myself. Anything that I would love to wear, I wear!'
What does she think about being criticised by some feminists for being 'too girly'?
'[That] is weird, right? It's the total opposite of what we should be doing. Why is being feminine or girly a bad thing? Why do we need to act like men to be strong and powerful? We all have different qualities but they're equally as good.'
The full interview appears in the July issue of British Cosmopolitan, on sale 7th June.
Tagged in Zooey Deschanel