Julia Garner is the star of Netflix's acclaimed true crime miniseries Inventing Anna, based on the story of conwoman Anna Delvey (born Anna Sorokin), who posed as a German heiress amongst New York's elite and swindled people out of $275,000 (£200,000).
Prior to landing this part, 28-year-old Garner had a prized role in highly rated crime drama Ozark, which saw her win two Emmy awards, a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Ruth Langmore - a young woman whose family business is generations of criminality.
But, the publicly praised actor had a difficult journey to Hollywood fame, as she recently opened up about in an interview with The Times.
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Garner, who lost out on starring in the American version of British teen drama Skins - her first professional audition - after being one of two actors in the final shortlist, recalled: 'I was like [teenage whine], "When am I going to get an opportunity and a chance?"'
She went on to explain that auditioning in Hollywood was bruising, with casting agents seemingly always wanting actors without curls or with veneers.
'It was clear to me when I started acting that I wasn’t going to get the girl-next-door [parts]. If I auditioned for a role in a high school, I wouldn’t get the cheerleader, I was always going to get the mute girl in the corner that’s like the freak, that was my bread and butter,' she said.
Garner clarified: 'I’m not talking about the new girl that moves in but happens to be very hot. That was not me either.'
Despite Garner's clear talent and bountiful career, like many ambitious women she has a 'fear of not being good enough, not being smart enough' and is perplexed at the attention she's receiving.
'It’s a big switch in my life. I never thought I had anything interesting to say. It’s weird that people are asking you all these questions,' she said, with innocence that belies her success.
Admitting that fame horrifies her, she added: 'I think it’s gross, to be honest. To have it be an unhealthy higher power, I think that’s dangerous … so much so... look what happened with Anna.'
Just recently, Garner responded to real-life Delvey's criticism of Inventing Anna.
Delvey wrote in an essay that she wouldn't be watching the series, told from a journalist's perspective.
'She wrote: 'I can't help but feel like an afterthought, the somber irony of being confined to a cell at yet another horrid correctional facility lost between the lines, the history repeating itself.'
Garner respectfully addressed the remarks in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying: 'I never made the show in anticipation, thinking that she’s going to watch it. If she did watch it, great. If not, that’s fine, too. I respect whatever she wants to do.'
As for how Garner finds peace in all the drama that comes with fame, the actor, who's also starred in hit shows such as true-crime domestic thriller Dirty John and romance drama Modern Love, doted on her musician husband Mark Foster, who she married in December 2019.
The Prada campaign star, who wore a seriously cool pantsuit for her nuptials, said of her marriage to Foster: 'Art is such an unstable lifestyle, so it’s nice to have some sort of stability.'
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