Zooey Deschanel: “I always wanted to be normal”

Zooey Deschanel tried really hard to be normal.

The actress says she always wanted to fit in, but now she’s happy to be different.

“I always wanted to be normal. I tried really hard but it’s like I try so hard and then people say I’m offbeat,” she said.

“I’ve learned to accept that and take advantage of it as an actor. It’s like, ‘Well, that’s who I am’, and it comes through and it’s OK.”

Despite trying to fit in, Zooey doesn’t believe you should try and change yourself.

“I don’t crave the approval of someone who just doesn’t like me. If they don’t like me then that’s fine. But yeah, occasionally you’ll run across something where someone will say something mean about you and it’s hard because there are some things you can’t change about yourself,” she said.

“And, you know, you shouldn’t change them because other people like them. It seems like a lot of people love having an opinion, which is great, but I don’t always need to hear it.”