Reese Witherspoon thinks it can be “dangerous” when movie stars don’t have hobbies.

The 34-year-old American actress is one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, having achieved critical acclaim for her roles in films varying from light-hearted comedies such as Legally Blonde to dramas including Walk the Line, the 2005 movie for which she won the best actress Oscar.

Reese takes her acting seriously, although is adamant her career will never rule her life. She has witnessed other A-list stars who have let jobs ruin their personal lives, and she has no plans to follow suit.

“I like to take classes, I read a lot – I have a lot of interests so your whole life isn’t just about making movies. That’s a dangerous place to be,” she asserted.

Reese admires Hollywood icons such as 61-year-old Meryl Streep, who has been nominated for an astounding 16 Academy Awards during her career, and has won two. However, the actress doesn’t intend on working quite as hard as Meryl, and counts spending time with her and ex-husband Ryan Phillippe’s two children; 11-year-old daughter Ava and seven-year-old son Deacon, as more important.

“As an actress, it would be lovely to think that we’re all Meryl Streep or Diane Keaton who just works endlessly but that’s not true,” she told Total Film.

“It’s important to cultivate a personal life that makes you just as happy as your professional life and I work really hard on that. I spend time with my kids and my girlfriends. It’s important to enrich yourself in lot of different ways.”