Julia Stiles on That Time a Limo Picked Her Up from Her College Dorm for the MTV Movie Awards

“There were some really funny, weird moments,” Stiles of attending college during the height of her fame on this week's episode of the PEOPLE in the '90s podcast

Julia Stiles is opening up about her unique college experience.

The actress, 40, appeared on the PEOPLE in the '90s podcast where she said "college, in many ways, insulated me from that huge change in anyone's life. And yeah, people would go, 'Oh, you're in that movie, right?'"

Stiles attended Columbia University where she graduated with a degree in English Literature in 2005. At that time she'd already starred in several Hollywood hits, such as Save the Last Dance, The Bourne Identity, The Prince and Me and Mona Lisa Smile.

"I think very quickly, I was able to focus on school," she said. "It would put things in perspective a lot. So my peers were all studying to become doctors, so that's humbling."

On occasion, there were some moments that reminded her of her very high-profile career.

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Julia Stiles at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

"And then, yeah, there were some really funny, weird moments, like a limo for the MTV Movie Awards pulling up in front of my dormitory with my name on it," she said, laughing. "Where it's like, you're like, 'Oh God!' So, no big deal."

While promoting Hustlers in September 2019, Stiles revealed she felt unsure about her career path after experiencing success in her teens and early twenties.

"I felt like I was sort of jumping from job to job that I wasn't really connected to, and worried about where my career was going," Stiles said in an interview with The Daily Beast.

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Julia Stiles. Kevin Mazur/Getty

"I think a few years ago my frustration was feeling like nobody knew what to do with me," she added. "You know, I had had some success in my twenties and now I'm in a different place in my life and I didn't really fit anywhere."

She continued, "But a movie like Hustlers to me is such an affirmation that like I have a place in the film industry and stories that I'm interested in are being told. If you had talked to me two or three years ago, I might have been more nervous or more frustrated, but I'm really, really happy where I am now."

Check out more from Stiles' interview on PEOPLE in the '90s. New episodes drop Thursday mornings on iHeartMedia, Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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