Jeff Daniels on Why He Only Recently Felt Like He’d ‘Made It’ (Exclusive)

Jeff Daniels may be one of the most talented and prolific actors of his generation, but it was only recently that he felt like he’d truly made it.

During an interview with PEOPLE, Daniels discussed how he once had an epiphany following the end of his Broadway run with To Kill a Mockingbird.

Daniels was playing Atticus Finch, a role made famous by Gregory Peck in the 1962 Oscar-winning film, in the stage production. But Daniels’ performance of the sage and moralistic Finch was superb all on its own, earning the actor a Tony nomination in 2019.

Now the 69-year-old actor says that after decades of memorable performances, he’s let go of his career ambitions.

“That quest to be the biggest star in the history of stars… That’s gone, and that kind of ended for me at the end of the one-year run of To Kill A Mockingbird,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “After Atticus Finch, I can’t top that experience.”

Playing the chief of police alongside Maura Tierney in the Prime Video series American Rust, which debuted its second season in March, was a project he dove into following a phone call with his agent.

“He goes, ‘What do you want to do?’” Daniels recalls. “It had taken 44 years for me to hear that, but that’s when I knew I’d made it.”

For more on Jeff Daniels, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here. 

That newfound attitude helps explain why he took the demanding role of Charlie Croker, a real estate mogul barreling towards bankruptcy, in Netflix’s limited series A Man in Full. For Daniels, playing the larger-than-life character was a creative “thrill.”

“I’m swinging for the fences,” he muses. “That’s where the fun is for me at this point, and that’s where the challenge is. Can I pull this off? Can he stay believable? Do you care about him enough to hang with him for the entire series? That was the challenge, and apparently I pulled it off.”

The actor has tackled a number of challenging roles while working steadily over the years, with unforgettable performances in films and shows like Something Wild, The Comey Rule and The Squid and the Whale. For his performance as a cable news anchor on HBO’s The Newsroom, Daniels won an Emmy in 2013 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. He earned another Emmy in 2019 for his performance in Godless for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie.

It’s now safe to say Daniels has earned the kind of career longevity many actors crave but very few actually achieve. And while it’s unlikely the work will dry up for the gifted performer, he’s fine with the possibility that he can “relax finally.”