Keri Russell Is Surprised She Escaped 'Mickey Mouse Club' with Her 'Sanity': 'Why in the World Did They Pick Me?'

Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake all shared the screen with Russell on the Disney kids show

Keri Russell didn’t take anything physical when she left the set of The Mickey Mouse Club.

The former child star told W Magazine the things she brought away from the Disney experience were “my sanity [and] my dignity.”

“Not everyone got out alive,” she jokingly added.

Russell, 47, was just one young celebrity to appear on the variety show — alongside the likes of Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and more familiar faces.

“Some of those people are still my best friends—Ilana [Miller] and Lindsey [Alley]. I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there,” she said.

Related: Keri Russell Perfects Her Princess Wave — and Tangles with an Overstepping Husband — in 'The Diplomat'

The Diplomat star named the A-listers as talented costars — which led to questions about her own employment. “And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there. I'm not kidding,” she said. “When I look at those kids, I'm like, why in the world did they pick me? It was wild.”

Russell recently reminisced on the TV show while appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, too. The host shared a photo of Russell and two other cast members grouped at a microphone.

“Pretending I can sing, which I can’t,” Russell joked of the image.

Related: 'Mickey Mouse Club' Stars Deedee Magno and Jennifer McGill Recall Going to Prom with Members of *NSYNC

She also recognized her time on the series was spent with “really famous kids.”

“They were all very talented. Christina, and Britney, and Ryan Gosling, and Justin — all those kids were 12 when I was 17. So I was a little older. I could drive. I was cool. But they were wildly talented.”

Russell has since moved on from her Disney days to more dramatic content. After The Mickey Mouse Club, Russell starred as the titular role in Felicity from 1998-2002 — a role that earned her a Golden Globe Award for best performance by an actress in a drama TV series. She also appeared in the spy thriller series, The Americans, from 2013-2018 and earned several Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

Most recently, she’s stepped into the role of Kate Wyler, a U.S. ambassador who struggles to balance her high-demand job and spotlighted love life, in Netflix's The Diplomat. Russell is nominated for an Emmy for the role: outstanding lead actress in a drama series.

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Season 1 of The Diplomat is now available to stream on Netflix.

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