Michelle Pfeiffer opens up about struggles, fears during early career

American actor Michelle Pfeiffer has had her fair share of ups and downs and recently admitted that she once struggled to gain confidence as a young star in the industry.

The 61-year-old actor revealed that she once feared getting fired from movie roles in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, reported People.

"I think it comes from not having a background of formal training, you know, in the beginning," Pfeiffer said.

"And I think when I started out, a lot of actors were coming out of Juilliard and I was just this young person from Orange County, kind of just getting by on my instincts purely and I think, for the longest time, I felt like it wasn't really enough and maybe didn't give me the credibility and maybe because I had to find my technique as I went along," she added.

She noted that her lack of confidence stemmed from the fact "that I didn't sort of start from a real secure place."

In 2017, Pfeiffer told director Darren Aronofsky that she felt like "a fraud" while working on movies.

"I have this constant fear that I'm a fraud and that I'm going to be found out. I think that's because I started working fairly quickly and I wasn't ready," she told Aronofsky for Interview magazine.

The actor added that she didn't have didn't attend any acting school or take training for her roles, which is why she felt like a "fraud."

"I didn't have any formal training. I didn't come from Juilliard. I was getting by and learning in front of the world. So I've always had this feeling that one day they're going to find out that I'm really a fraud, that I really don't know what I'm doing," the 'Batman Returns' actor said.

On the work front, Pfeiffer will next star as Queen Ingrith in the sequel of 'Maleficent'. Ingrith is the mother of Prince Philip and seeks to use their marriage to drive a wedge between humans and fairies forever.

The film also stars Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning.

Pfeiffer recently told ET that she "had a blast" working on the film. "I'm pretty confident with the villains now. I know where to go for that," she said.

'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' will hit the big screens on October 18.