Playing Captain Marvel’s Carol Danvers changed Brie Larson’s life in more ways than you can imagine. Before the actor took on the role, she was adamant about keeping her personal life away from the spotlight. But now, it seems the 30-year-old is embracing a new side of herself. In July 2020, Larson launched her own YouTube channel, and she revealed Captain Marvel has helped her open up about her truest self.
Brie Larson starts her own YouTube channel in July 2020
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On July 2, Larson dropped her first YouTube video. She discussed what fans can expect on her channel while speaking with popular content creators such as iJustine, LaurDIY, and Lilly Singh.
“YouTube has been a place that I have learned so much,” Larson said. “Whether it’s been how to use my printer or it’s been watching how to be a considerate activist. This is the place to talk about things that are important and that matter.”
She continued, “It doesn’t mean that there isn’t also silly content, that there’s ways for me to express myself personally. But, there will also be deep conversations, anti-racist rhetoric, inclusive content.”
Larson also hopped on First We Feast’s Hot Ones series. The Captain Marvel actor shared why she started the YouTube channel.
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She said:
I think for so long, my internet perception — which is where most people know me from — is through a press day. I always felt like if I revealed too much about myself, people wouldn’t be able to believe me as other characters. That’s something I’ve always held really close to my chest.
So this is kind of a way of trying to break out of that line of thought and say there’s a lot that people don’t know about me. I guess deep down, I’ve just been too scared to be so vulnerable on the internet. So that’s part of it. Being more open about my flaws, about who I actually am, and not just through a director’s lens or the safety of a character.
Brie Larson shares how playing Captain Marvel changed her life
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During the Hot Ones episode, Larson was asked about an interview she did with Film School Rejects back in 2013. At the time, the Captain Marvel star said, “I think it ruins movies if you know my favorite brand of potato chip or whatever.”
Clearly, Larson has since changed her opinion, as she started her own YouTube channel. Then the actor hinted that playing Captain Marvel prompted her to view things differently.
“I would imagine that whenever I did that article, I wasn’t Captain Marvel,” Larson said. “There was a little bit more leeway between what it was that I was doing. And I made the decision to be Captain Marvel. I knew what came with that. And so with that, it’s been a really beautiful experience.”
She added, “I would imagine when I did that article, if there had ever been a paparazzi photo, it would’ve left me in a full-on panic attack because it felt so jarring and scary and exposing.”
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Larson also shared that things have changed. She even exchanges hellos when she sees the paparazzi and finds it refreshing when a person she admires is candid. The actor said:
It’s just different for me now. I’ve found that whenever I’ve read an interview or a biography or watched a video with an artist that I love and they’re very candid and they’re flawed and I get to see their process, I feel like, ‘Oh my god, yes. I’m not the only one who feels like that.’ I just started to realize that I was being too self preservational … more than I needed to.
Meanwhile, Larson touched on Captain Marvel’s influence on her experience with social anxiety when speaking with AsapSCIENCE’s Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown in her first YouTube video.
“For me, my baseline has been, I’m an introvert with asthma. That’s been my story for myself — I’m introverted, I’m scared, I have social anxiety,” Larson said. “And through, in particular, playing Captain Marvel, that kind of wiped clean those titles I had for myself. It made me go, ‘Whoa, I’m not really that anymore.’”
She concluded, “So from there, I found that speaking out, telling my story, talking about things that I’m scared of, has just helped me so much.”
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