Danny Elfman is no stranger to a big stage. From leading new wave band Oingo Boingo and performing a solo set at Coachella to his involvement in Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman, many will be surprised to learn the 69-year-old has always battled stage fright.
LISTEN NOW: Danny Elfman joins Guy Raz on ‘The Great Creators’ podcast
Elfman recently joined The Great Creators podcast with host Guy Raz to share details surrounding his relentless battle with stage fright, something he says he never got over.
“I always had stage fright, I never got over it,” Danny shared. “[It] was not about judgement at all. Stage fright is a mental condition it’s like an uneasiness being in front of people… Before every show a part of me wanted to bolt and run away — just leave the building.”
Elfman credits his passion for music and adrenaline for carrying him through, he also shared seeing other musicians struggle with the same thing helped him feel less alone.
“Somewhere during the show, I would click in and [think] ‘I’m here now, I’m in the moment,’” he explained. “We used to have the [Red Hot] Chili Peppers open for us, before they were famous… I remember seeing Flea backstage at the amphitheatere and just before he goes on, he goes off to the side of the stage, throws up and then walks out and plays. I don’t do that, but I understand that.”
“It’s like, I don’t want to go in front of everyone and do this f***ing stuff. You want to do the opposite, you want to hide in a shadow. That’s my natural inclination — hide, reclusive.”
“When you’re wired that way, you have to force yourself through a barrier to get out there and get off on so much adrenaline that you’re not going to have your head explode.”
Hear more about Elfman’s journey to success, his decision to leave the biggest job of his career, adventures in a traveling circus and more by tuning into The latest episode if The Great Creators podcast with Guy Raz above.
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