Christina Ricci Is Glad Social Media Didn't Exist When She Was a Young Star

Glamour: How often do you watch your films when they come on TV?

Christina Ricci: It depends. We have Apple TV, so I’d have to go search for my own stuff. It’s been a long time that I’ve been like, "I really want to go and see that movie…." I think the last one we watched was Addams Family Values. I had to talk about it since it was being rereleased for its anniversary, so I watched it again to familiarize myself with it.

My sister was adamant that I mention Now and Then, which is one of her favorites.

CR: I was in a bathroom recently with (costar) Rita Wilson and didn’t say hi! I don’t think she recognized me. I looked at her, but she didn’t recognize me, and I totally forgot she was in that movie and that I worked with her until after. I should have just gone right up to her. When you’ve worked as long as I have, and I was a child then and am an adult now and such a different person, it’s hard to almost remember that you had contact with some people.

You’ve seen so much change through your career. What's changed for you personally?

CR: I think there’s a real appreciation for intelligent filmmaking and seeing it reflected in movies and TV. For a very long time the things we were supposed to aspire to be in were so stupid. I had to pretend that I thought it was good, you know? So it’s nice now that you can actually say, "No, I want to be in something really smart, and I don’t care if only 10 people get it. I want to make art." There seems to be real value to that now.

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself during your teen years?

CR: Yes, for sure. I would tell myself it’s all about the work I did and what I created, and nothing else mattered. I didn’t know that for a very long time, and I wish I had. I think it’s very confusing when you introduce a child to fame because fame is so warping. People clamor for and want it so badly. I think as a kid, you get confused, when really any adult should tell you, "No, it’s about what you create and the work you do. It’s about valuing yourself as an artist and not something to be put up for people to consume." I didn’t understand that…I thought that I was meant for other people to consume. [But] I was a kid.