Olympic Gold changed me and my life dramatically. I became a celebrity overnight and people see me as a famous skater, not a real person.
I think it's easy for directors to stay fresh more than actors, especially once an actor becomes a star. It's hard for Russell Crowe to walk down a street or take a subway. I can fly coach.
It's not unlike the movies for human actors. Once a dog stars in a movie, they don't work very much anymore. It's kind of heartbreaking.
Stardom can be very destructive - particularly if you believe in it.
I can see how child stars can be thrown off-kilter.
Child stardom is a really hard thing. It can really lead to bad things, and I think a lot of people have gone through that.
There's an argument that celebrities stop growing mentally the moment they reach stardom and then they just - everything goes away. I think that's true.
It is often pointed out to me that, in a brief time, I have gone from unknown film editor to star of 'Gomer Pyle,' guest star in two TV specials, and a night club headliner, and that this must necessarily have wrought some deep changes in me.
Of course there have been times I regretted being the kid in 'E.T.' My world went completely crazy. I was that stupid kind of famous, where you can't go anywhere.
Being an ex-child star is not a given.
The Oscar made me a star, and I'm grateful. But I feel had I not won the Oscar I wouldn't have gotten into the messes I did in my personal life.
Whenever someone comes up to me saying, 'I saw you in 'Carlos' and then I saw the rest of your movies,' for me, it's an expression that we might be doing something well. So my life hasn't changed that much. I just try not to go to very crowded places if I'm not in the mood.
We had no sleep or days off or anything like that and then, when the band became big, Hendrix became a star and looked down at us lot.
