Keri Russell said she’s “lucky” to have gotten “out alive” after being chosen for Disney’s coveted Mouseketeers program.
When asked by W magazine if she “saved” anything from her time on the “All-New Mickey Mouse Club,” the “Americans” alum responded, “My sanity, my dignity. Not everyone got out alive.”
Despite her serious response, Russell, 47, admitted that she was the “least talented” performer in the program, having been in the same company as Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling and more.
“Some of those people are still my best friends — Ilana [Miller] and Lindsey [Alley]. I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there,” she 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.”
The “Diplomat” star joined the “All-New Mickey Mouse Club” when she was 15 years old and appeared in the series from 1991 to 1994.
In October 2021, Russell told Pvnew exclusively that she hoped Spears, who was just 11 when she joined the variety show, was “happy” amid her then-active battle to free herself from a 13-year conservatorship helmed by her father, Jamie Spears.
“I just hope she’s happy, whatever that means,” she said at a screening for her film “Antlers.”
“I don’t know if any of us really know how her life really is,” Russell continued, “but I just hope she’s happy.”
The “Felicity” star previously praised her fellow castmates while visiting “The Kelly Clarkson Show” earlier this year.
“They were all very talented. Like, Christina and Britney and Ryan Gosling and Justin, all those kids were 12 when I was 17. So I was a little older,” Russell recalled at the time.
“I mean, I could drive. I was cool. But they were wildly talented.”
