[Article] Naomi Watts Wishes She Had "Thicker Skin"

14/06/2010
Marie Claire UK

Naomi Watts says she is extremely shy and wishes she had a “thicker skin”.

The actress struggled to make it in Hollywood until she landed a role in Mulholland Drive when she was 31. She admits she took criticism too personally when she went to auditions and began to feel like she had lost her personality.


Naomi says her timid nature makes it difficult to cope in unfamiliar situations or talk to new people.

“Everyone said I was an overnight success, but it was ten years leading up to that. I didn’t have a thick skin, I was so sensitive,” she said in an interview for the July issue of Marie Claire magazine. “There are people who can walk into a room and just be themselves. I wish I was that person but it’s not me. I’m very shy. I’m terrible at parties. I went to a club the other night and felt so awkward and ungroovy. Everyone else just looks so cool. It’s just how I’ve always been.”

Naomi believes her shyness is down to the fact that her family moved around when she was growing up. She grew up in Britain, but her family then relocated to Australia when she was 14. She has also spent a considerable amount of time in Los Angeles. The 41-year-old currently lives in New York with Liev Schreiber and their two kids.

“I have no idea,” she replied when asked where home is. “I always feel a bit like an outsider. But having said that, my home is my family, and right now we live in New York.

“Liev is such a New Yorker, I can’t see him leaving any time soon. But, you know, we went to Sydney for Christmas and it felt like home. Then I was filming in London, it was so great. I would love to live in London again.”