Michelle Pfeiffer has no idea why she feared turning 50 - because she finds life as an older woman "liberating".
The Dangerous Liaisons star celebrated the milestone in 2008, and she admits she had nothing to worry about.
She says, "If you think hitting 40 is liberating, wait till you hit 50 - and I was surprised at how liberating it was.
"The anticipation of something is always much worse than the reality."
And Pfeiffer has found a perk to being a mature actress: "The older you get, the roles actually become more interesting.
"(And) it seems that my leading men just keep getting younger the older I get. It seems that people have an aversion to casting people of the same age - luckily for me, I don't really mind it."
After several years away from the big screen Pfeiffer returned in 2007 with fantasy movie Stardust and musical Hairspray, both of which found major box office success.
This year she will star in Persoanl Effects with Kathy Bates, Ashton Kutcher and Cheri by Stephen Frears.
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