Alicia Silverstone talks about fame that followed after her 1995 movie "Clueless."
Actress Alicia Silverstone, who rose to fame as Cher Horowitz in "Clueless," which came out in 1995, shared with The Hollywood Reporter recently that the fame was complicated to navigate.
Alicia Silverstone began acting at a young age, and in her debut film Crush, she played a 14-year-old stalker attempting to seduce a journalist played by actor Cary Elwes. Alicia stated that things began to happen immediately like she won best newcomer and best villain at the MTV Movie Awards. Then she appeared in Aerosmith videos including Cryin', Amazing, and Crazy, and she was working a lot. Alicia said she was working in France with Alain Corneau and she did films with James Gandolfini, Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti, and so on adding that even though she was very young at the time, she took acting very seriously.
The actress who piqued Amy Heckerling's interest in Aerosmith's videos seemed ideal for a role in a film supposedly based on Jane Austen's Emma. Clueless starred actors including Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Brittany Murphy, Jeremy Sisto, Stacey Dash, Donald Faison, Elisa Donovan, Breckin Meyer, Wallace Shawn, Justin Walker, and Twink Caplan.
Alicia Silverstone mentioned that when Clueless came out, it shifted, and she went from being the girl from Crush, following the Aerosmith chick to being Cher. She explained how complicated it was, and said that she doesn't think she understood how to handle it explaining that she didn't have such a solid foundation or appropriate tools to deal with it, and was not prepared in any way, shape, or form. Alicia said she had no clue what was going on, and it didn't feel good.
When Alicia Silverstone signed a $10 million two-picture deal with Columbia-TriStar in 1995, the Los Angeles Times published an article with the title of the article, "Carrey! Schwarzennegger! Stallone! Silverstone?" suggesting Alicia Silverstone's agreement was emblematic of the unsustainably high salary rising prices that were ruining Hollywood. Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin which came out in 1997 with star-studded superhero film starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Chris O'Donnell, was a total flop. However, Alicia Silverstone said that working with Michael Gough who played Alfred was mystically explaining that they had a very special bond adding that George Clooney was such a big brother to her—the film was a low point for her. It was reported that it was the beginning of the end for Alicia Silverstone's career as a screen icon of the 1990s.
The actress said that she wasn't happy, so she took a step back from her acting career and focused more on her activism, and traveled to Africa. Alicia went to Peru to help the elephants and the rainforest and discovered a passion for writing books about healing and health. The Kind Diet books arrived later, but that was the beginning of the journey.
Alicia Silverstone never seems somewhat satisfied to dip in and out for the next decade, mostly playing characters tailored to her Cher personality, such as the marital attorney/matchmaker in NBC's short-lived show titled Miss Match and for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Alicia also appeared as the idealistic and cheery stylist in Queen Latifah's 2005 vehicle Beauty Shop.
In 2002, she made her Broadway debut along with Kathleen Turner and Jason Biggs in a stage adaptation of The Graduate, and in 2007, she appeared in David Mamet's Boston Marriage. It happened while Alicia was on stage doing a David Mamet play and also being directed by David Mamet; it did remind her how much she love acting and how much she had to let go of so much of it. She noted that there were numerous incredible possibilities that she turned down because she won't look capable. But after that performance, she thought that she would love to do that again, so having returned to the movies was like continuing the journey she began in the theater. Alicia started doing really interesting things in film as well.
She said that it's difficult to be an activist, a mother, and an actress at the same time but she is giving it her all and she continues to give talks about health and the environment; all of this is important to her. Being fully present with her son is the most important thing to the actress and as for acting, she will keep dabbling and trying to stay involved.
Alicia Silverstone's breakout character Cher Horowitz has made a few appearances in recent weeks, including a Super Bowl ad for Rakuten in which she wore Cher's iconic yellow-and-black, checked blazer and skirt ensemble, as well as a reuniting with co-star Stacey Dash where the two recreated a classic scene from their adored teen comedy.