Claire Danes has opened up about reading bad Homeland reviews while she was in labor and hiding her second pregnancy from her co-stars. Now the actress is sharing that, as it turns out, playing a genius on television can lead people thinking you are a genius in real life. In a hilarious interview with Seth Meyers on Late Night, she explained the funny moment: a father told her he had learned about "her" intellect. When asked if people confuse her Homeland character's knowledge with her knowledge, she said this:
Oh, totally. And boy, are they mistaken? A dad from my son's school stopped me the other day[and said, 'I was Googling for some weird reason 'women geniuses,' and your came name up, and apparently you Claire Danes have an IQ of 157.' I was like, 'No, no, no. I play a genius on the television. I am no genius.' But I'll take it. The genius part. Not the [other stuff].
There are certainly worse things than being falsely thought to be a genius. But this hilarious anecdote does shed light on how people can get a character's attributes confused with that of the actor playing them. Of course, Google did not help matters. Did the guy Google "women geniuses" and Claire Danes' picture came up and he assumed it was her and not her character? We do not know. Still, that is an understandable misunderstanding to have.
Claire Danes does have to give herself some credit though. Not every actor could have been so convincing in the role of the ingenious Carrie Mathison, which has been crucial to the show's success. Danes has won multiple Primetime Emmys for her portrayal of the character.
Plus, being mistaken for a genius is not the worst job perk in the world. If Claire Danes is familiar with the meme of Carrie doing math, then she probably knows how synonymous the Homeland character has become with intelligence. People will commonly post the now-iconic image of Carrie working through an intricate equation. The point is usually to symbolize how the person is trying to piece together an elaborate piece of information.
Claire Danes remaining so humble in spite of her success is just part of her charm. While the actress has brought to life one of television's most indelible characters, she will not be doing so much longer. In the interview, Seth Meyers mentions that she will be starting her eighth season of the show. And Danes has previously said that Season 8 will be the final season of the intense drama.
The internet has a way of remembering things though, and the fact that it considers Carrie a genius will not go away, even if the show does. In her interview with Seth Meyers, Claire Danes did not mention the downsides to playing the character. For what she did spill, you can find out by watching the clip below:
For new upcoming and returning television shows you can watch in the coming months, check out CinemaBlend's guide to TV's summer premieres. If you are curious about upcoming TV shows that are set to stream on Netflix, CinemaBlend has you covered with our 2018 Netflix premiere rundown as well as our guide to Amazon Prime's premiere schedule.
