Actress and activist Daryl Hannah is speaking out about her struggle with autism, which she said has been a part of her life since childhood.
In an interview with People magazine, the Wall Street actress, 52, said that she was diagnosed with autism as a child, but made sure not to discuss it with movie producers. "I've never been comfortable being the center of attention," she told the magazine, reports E! News. "It's always freaked me out."
Hannah explained that she never refused to do promotional appearances for movies because she thought that was beneath her. Instead, she didn’t do them because she was “terrified.”
Today.com notes that in the interview, Hannah said that her doctors once wanted to put her in an institution, but her mother said no. Still, she did feel alone and isolated as a child. Later, she discovered a love of movies and decided to become an actress.
“Acting for me was about going to the Land of Oz and meeting the Tin Man," Hannah said. “It still is."
Although Hannah is currently attached to various small projects, she isn’t focusing on acting any longer. Instead, she focuses on being an environmental activist. “Nowadays acting is like a vacation from my real work as an activist,” she said.
While she did say that she’s not getting any major film offers, she believes "Life is too short to stress the small things anymore."
image: Wikimedia Commons
