Michaela Coel doesn't want to chase "popularity or clout".

The 38-year-old actress enjoyed huge success with I May Destroy You, the 2020 comedy-drama series that she created, wrote and co-directed -- but Michaela is determined to pursue projects that are "fulfilling" for her.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "I remember somebody saying to me, 'This is the window.' Something in that phrase made me think, 'Oh, operating in that way makes me feel like underneath that is a fear of a window closing.' I was like, that's weird energy. I don't want that.

"So I kind of looked away from the window. I May Destroy You was like a kite. It was huge in the sky, and I was just holding the thing, and then I let go and it's flying in the sky, but now I have to make something new.

"I didn't want to do too much of the window-closing stuff because I also learned that I have to really feel like it's purpose-driven."

Michaela committed to starring in two new movies, Mother Mary and The Christophers, because she feels genuinely passionate about the projects.

She said: "I can tell when I've made a decision based on something that isn't quite right to me. It's hard to explain, but I know that when I do something for popularity or clout, it's not as fulfilling as doing something like Mother Mary or The Christophers, where my body is pulled to this story, to these people.

"I'd rather not be visible and not be doing anything. I'm very fortunate in that I can sustain myself and not work for a little bit and tinker around my laptop and just see if something comes to my soul."

Michaela doesn't worry about her legacy and is instead firmly focused on the present.

She said: "People do live like that. I don't. I am actively trying to focus on what is in my hand in any present moment."