Garner's peers also shared their feelings about fame.
Jennifer Garner is opening up about fame and what she misses the most about her life before finding stardom.
In a roundtable conversation with Claire Danes, Emma D’Arcy and Melanie Lynskey for The Hollywood Reporter, Garner chimed in after D'Arcy (who identifies with they/them pronouns) shared that their "day-to-day is broadly unchanged" after landing the role of Rhaenyra Targaryen on House of the Dragon, HBO's Game of Thrones spinoff.
D'Arcy said advice from Emilia Clarke proved immensely beneficial. But while they wouldn't divulge the piece of advice, D'Arcy said "that wig" in House of the Dragon was a "blessing" because "people don't recognize me." They added, "I feel that the ability to observe others and not be the observed is so fundamentally important to our job. I guess I've just really worried about that."
Garner then interjected and offered a thoughtful response.
"It's an enormous loss when you are the person that the eyes are directed toward," she said. "The loss of just being able to smile at someone on the street and say hello as yourself is a really intense thing -- something to mourn and not to be taken lightly. And, probably, a natural outcropping of your success and your beauty and your work. So, it's not something to be totally feared. But it's something to know for yourself and to talk about. And then figure out where can you still observe and be quiet in yourself and make room for those places."
Danes then said that the intense focus on her and her peers fluctuates, adding that she takes solace that the "volume" will "dissipate" and soon "be afforded a lot more freedom soon."
"Look, what I've experienced is just a modicum of what [Garner has,] but I also think denial is a great tool and you can set the tone, too," the Fleishman Is in Trouble star said. "Sometimes it's beyond your control, but if you're not that interested in it, then people take the cue from that."
Added Garner, "That's more true now than it used to be. And maybe just because I'm older now and I'm not at the center of things, it's just calmed down enough for me in a way that I'm so grateful for."
Such as?
"I can be at Disneyland, oddly," said Garner later when talking about the paparazzi.
The group was posed a curious question right off the bat: If a fan approaches you on the street, what do you typically hear?
Lynskey said, "If someone comes up and says, 'My dad loves you,' then I know they're going to talk about Two and a Half Men. But if someone comes up and says, 'Are you famous?' which sometimes happens, I say no."
"It's shocking how many people approach me with their appreciation for My So-Called Life," Danes said. "I mean, that was a verrrry long time ago, but teenagers are still finding it."
D'Arcy said they're presented with "a possible out" because fans tell them they look quite different in real life.
"I've taken the out for sure," responded Garner with a laugh. "I get a lot of 13 Going on 30. It's, 'Oh, it's my comfort movie,' or, God forbid, 'My mom's favorite movie.'"
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