May 30 was a good day for Keri Russell. The actress received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, alongside her Americans co-star and IRL partner Matthew Rhys. Also present? Her old friends and longtime colleagues on the iconic WB dramedy that kicked off her career as a TV megastar in 1998, Felicity.
Felicity co-star and ex-boyfriend Scott Speedman (who played love interest Ben and dated Russell IRL) and series creators J. J. Abrams and Matt Reeves attended the landmark event, and even shared some sweet words with the crowd about the attention-shy 41-year-old. "Getting attention is not her strong suit," Abrams said in his speech, as reported by ET Online. "What she does so beautifully is become other people, and she does it in a way that most actors would only dream of being able to." He also commended the actress on a personal level. "She is one of the sweetest people, one of the most wonderful friends, mothers, co-workers that you could ever hope to know," the Lost creator said.
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Abrams is sure right about Russell's modesty. While reflecting on her career, the actress credited her success largely to luck and opportunity. "I haven't had some great plan," she told ET. "It's definitely not something I started out wanting to do. I didn’t grow up wanting to be an actress. I was a dancer who sort of fell into it. And I've been incredibly lucky and had some really good opportunities and experiences. There’s no rhyme or reason. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't."
Russell joked that her time on The Mickey Mouse Club was her real career catalyst. "I guess my rapping on The Mickey Mouse Club was that good, you can end up here," she laughed. "It can happen is all I have to say. No, it is shocking, but when I said that I really meant it. It seems like such an iconic thing, so it's incredible to be a part of this history."