“Back in Action” marks Cameron Diaz’s first acting role in more than 10 years, after starring in 2014’s remake of “Annie.” So, why did she come back? And more importantly, why did she quit acting?
It’s easy to assume some scandal happened, but in reality, there’s no indication of that. It seems Diaz just wanted to focus on other aspects of life.
In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Diaz’s “Charlie’s Angels” co-star Drew Barrymore explained that “both of us, we’ve been doing this our whole lives and we love what we get to do, and sometimes it’s fun to just shift gears and bring something else to the forefront, and it’s still awesome.”
Appearing on Kevin Hart’s Peacock series “Hart to Heart” that same year, Diaz herself told him that when “you’re the person who’s ‘the talent’ — everything around you, all parts of you that isn’t that, has to be handed off to other people.” She added that she “really wanted to make my life manageable by me.”
In those 10 years, Diaz focused on being a parent and running her wine brand. And, in a recent video for Netflix, she revealed that she didn’t actually plan to return.
“I was perfectly happy, you know, just living my life, doing other things, you know? Like day in and day out, not movies.
Why did Cameron Diaz pick “Back in Action” as her first film back?
Well, according to Diaz, it was because the call came from Jamie Foxx, who stars alongside her in the film, and also executive produces. The two had previously worked together in Diaz’s last film back in 2014 (he played Daddy Warbucks to her Ms. Hannigan).
“If there’s anyone I’m gonna go back and spend months on end on set having a ball laughing with it would be Jamie,” Diaz explained.
The actress said she was drawn to the story as well, because she knows so many actors, singers, writers and more who all have kids that just think they’re painfully uncool.
“This is one of those, like, little fantasies that all parents have, is that their kids could see them as they existed before they had all of the weight of the world of being a parent on them,” Diaz said. “Children just can’t see their parents that way.”
“This is hopefully a film that parents will sit with their children and watch a movie with them, and maybe their kids will side-eye their parents a little bit and be like, ‘Hmm, mom, dad, was there anything you did before we came along that was cool?’ You know? And maybe, just maybe, their kids will believe them when they say yeah.”
“Back in Action” is now streaming on Netflix.
The post Why Did Cameron Diaz Take a 10-Year Break From Acting? appeared first on TheWrap.
