Alicia Silverstone 'Stopped Loving Acting for a Very Long Time' After Making 'Batman & Robin'

Alicia Silverstone nearly abandoned her passion for acting after a difficult time making a Batman movie.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the actress, 43, opened up about the discouragement she felt around the time she starred in 1997’s Batman & Robin. “That definitely wasn’t my favorite filmmaking experience,” she told the outlet of making the movie, which also starred George Clooney, Uma Thurman and Chris O’Donnell.

Aside from the superhero film being critically panned (she was branded “worst supporting actress” by the Razzies at the time), Silverstone said she faced public body-shaming that temporarily deterred her from the Hollywood world.

“They would make fun of my body when I was younger,” she said. “It was hurtful but I knew they were wrong. I wasn’t confused. I knew that it was not right to make fun of someone’s body shape; that doesn’t seem like the right thing to be doing to a human.”

Silverstone said she “stopped loving acting for a very long time” after playing Batgirl.

“There were working circumstances that were less than favorable in terms of how things went down,” she said. “And no, I didn’t say ‘F— you’ and come out like a warrior, but I would just walk away and go, ‘Okay, I know what that is and I’m done, I’m not going near that again.’”

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Silverstone rose to fame after her break-out role in the 1995 high school comedy Clueless, a role for which the star is still recognized — and one that feels both distant and familiar for her.

“In a way, it’s a lifetime ago,” she recently told PEOPLE. “I don’t remember myself, I was 18. So much has happened since. At the same time, it feels like yesterday.”

She added: “People are really respectful. Sometimes they’ll shout catchphrases like ‘As If!’ but mostly they come up and are like, ‘I’m so sorry, I just have to tell you, you must get this a million times a day, but I love Clueless so much.’ People are always kind and loving about it.”

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The mom to 8½-year-old son Bear Blu told The Guardian that after being thrust into the spotlight at 18, she had difficulties adjusting to her newfound fame and attention.

“It was really just extreme how I was being talked to and talked about,” said Silverstone. “I think I just got really turned off by it.”

Now with three new projects coming down the pike, Silverstone told the outlet she regained her affinity for her line of work after doing stage productions. “I think I do really love acting still,” she said, “I mean … I know I do!”

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