Paul Newman’s career-long crisis of confidence: “I’m not miserable, I’m just not happy”
From the outside, it’s perhaps easy to assume that the people of Hollywood have everything they could ever dream of. As a movie star, you’re rewarded with a life of luxury and convenience to make up for the emotionally draining and often invasive celebrity lifestyle, with healthy pay cheques and multiple houses to make up for it.
However, as much as it can seem like a perfect life that is absent of worry and stress, there are many other problems that come with living in the public eye, something that Paul Newman was all too aware of.
Newman was often described as the sex symbol of his generation, with a classic American look that defined his roles in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and The Verdict. Over the years, he reached increasing levels of fame through collaborations with esteemed directors like Martin Scorsese, Sidney Lumet and George Roy Hill, becoming a firm staple in the New Hollywood movement and adding to the rapidly changing cinematic landscape.
While his impact is undeniable, the actor later revealed his complex feelings towards fame and his indisputably fruitful career, articulating his struggle to make sense of the life he was living and his time in the spotlight. It’s a battle that many people in his position grapple with, such as imposter syndrome or feeling unworthy of the privilege they have been afforded.
For Newman, this struggle arose from the fact that he felt as though he hadn’t truly achieved anything substantial, with the actor saying, “Sometimes I wonder what have I accomplished. I’ve become famous, something I never wanted, and I’ve made a lot of money, something I was not opposed to having. But what have I accomplished? [Becoming] an American celluloid sex symbol? Whoopee! I’m not miserable. I’m just not happy. I don’t have inner serenity, and I don’t have the guts to do anything else.”
Despite starring in some of the most acclaimed films of all time, as well as having a successful career away from the screen and on the race tracks, the actor highlighted something crucial about how public perception altered his perception of himself. While he might have been proud of the films he made, the label of a sex symbol and Hollywood hunk is demeaning, reducing his talents to his physical appearance and making him feel stripped of his true character.
It’s a line that many people have to carefully toe across in the industry, with the likes of Jacob Elordi and Daniel Craig going to intense lengths to prove themselves as more than just love interests and Hollywood heartthrobs after becoming renowned for roles that pegged them into these boxes.
While Newman has had an extremely varied and fascinating career, it is understandable why he has struggled with fame and the many labels and benefits that have been thrust onto him. If you are told that all your success comes from something you have no control over, then you would surely feel as though it was undeserved, even if it is far from the truth.
