The 'Americans' star was on the show at the same time as other familiar faces like Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake
Kerry Russell is remembering her days as a Mouseketeer among other "famous kids" like Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake.
"Not everyone got out alive," the 47-year-old actress joked of her time on the "All New Mickey Mouse Club" in the early to mid-1990s, telling W Magazine that while she didn’t take any Disney souvenirs when she left the show but escaped with her "sanity" and "dignity."
Russell claimed that among the eventual superstars who were on the show at the same time, that she was the "least talented."
"I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there," the "Diplomat" star explained. "And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there. I'm not kidding. When I look at those kids, I'm like, why in the world did they pick me? Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears. It was wild."
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Keri Russell joined the "All New Mickey Mouse Club" in 1991 at just 15 years old. (Getty)
She also left the show with long-lasting friendships.
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"Some of those people are still my best friends—Ilana [Miller] and Lindsey [Alley]," she said.
Russell was cast on the "Mickey Mouse Club" in 1991 when she was just 15.
Keri Russell moved on to "Felicity" after the "Mickey Mouse Club." (Getty Images)
Russell also recalled the uproar she caused when she cut her hair on "Felicity," which she starred in from 1998 until 2002.
"They cut my hair on the show," she told W. "They were like, ‘Would you do that?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ Because the character wasn't known to be this beautiful person. She was this nerdy, kind of overly emotional college student. And I thought, Of course, every one of my friends cut their hair. They’d break up with a boy, and then they’d have this terrible haircut. So I thought it was perfect."
She noted that the fallout from the haircut with fans was "crazy. People were very upset by that haircut. Sorry."
Keri Russell was on the "Mickey Mouse Club" in the 1990s at the same time as Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. (Getty)
As for her fellow Mouseketeers, Spears and Aguilera quickly went on to popstar fame in their late teens after they left the show and Gosling, along with Russell, found success in acting.
Gosling is known for movies like "The Notebook," "La La Land" and, most recently, this summer’s "Barbie."
Following "Felicity," a show about a New York college student, Russell played a Cold War spy on "The Americans" from 2013 to 2018 and now stars as the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. in "The Diplomat."
