Zendaya isn’t sure she’s cut out for pop stardom.
Years before becoming one of the highest-grossing actresses in the world, the 25-year-old Emmy winner had released a joint EP, a dozen of singles, and a self-titled studio album. And although she occasionally records music for her on-screen projects, Zendaya admits she prefers acting over singing because it allows for more anonymity.
“I was talking to Sam [Levinson, Euphoria creator] about this earlier. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I could ever be a pop star,’” she told Spider-Man co-star Andrew Garfield in Variety’s “Actors on Actors” issue. “It’s because as an actor, there’s a level of anonymity that I get to have, which I really like.”
She continued: “And I get to sort my stuff, whatever that is, through a character and nobody needs to know about it. Whereas in other forms and other mediums, it’s all you all the time. I like the idea that somebody else, meaning Rue [from Euphoria], gets to take on that stuff and I can …”
Garfield then questioned if uncertainty about pop stardom stemmed from concerns over personal boundaries.
“Yeah, boundaries,” Zendaya responded. “Learning what’s for me.”
Zendaya has released a number of tracks for Disney’s Shake It Up franchise, in which she starred from 2010 to 2013. She went on to release her debut album in summer 2013, delivering the singles “My Baby” and the platinum-selling “Replay.”
You can watch Garfield and Zendaya’s full conversation via YouTube below. They also discuss Zendaya co-writing and performing “I’m Tired” with Labrinth; Euphoria’s cultural impact; dealing with stardom at such a young age; and their experience working on Spider-Man: No Way Home.