It’s fair the say that Rachel Brosnahan is enjoying a very successful and exciting career right now. The actor has a collection of Emmy awards thanks to playing everybody’s favourite 50s housewife-turned-stand-up comic in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And she also stars in Amazon Prime Video’s new thriller, I’m Your Woman. 

But despite all this, Brosnahan has just revealed that she is not immune from a constant feeling of failure that so many of us experience in life. 

In an interview with The Independent, Brosnahan said she suffers extreme anxiety on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel set and has often gone home after work in tears every night. “I know I’m not alone in feeling like the things I’m most passionate about come with the most anxiety,” she shared.  

When asked what she is afraid of, the star replied: “Failure… It’s always fear of failure. Fear of disappointing people and letting them down, but more than anything, fear of disappointing myself and letting myself down. There is a gift, when you’re first starting out, in the bar being extraordinarily low. And there’s an increased pressure that comes with success, to continue to be successful in everything you do.”

Brosnahan explained how why and how she tries to “embrace” failure: “I believe that if you’re taking bold risks and big swings, failure is inevitable and shouldn’t be feared but rather embraced.

“That doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. But I’m working hard to remember that when fear and anxiety feel overwhelming, and working hard to be motivated by that fear rather than paralysed by it.” 

It’s a reminder that we all face that nagging feeling of failure and anxiety in life, no matter what our achievements and circumstances are. But Brosnahan’s tip – finding a way to feel motivated by fear instead of paralysed by it – is well worth trying out the next time those feelings of self-doubt cloud your mind.

Images: Getty, Amazon