From temporary breaks to complete career changes, these stars shared their honest reasons for stepping away from the spotlight. Join us as we explore the fascinating stories behind some of Hollywood's most notable departures from acting, including their struggles, personal journeys, and inspiring comebacks.
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00:00The roles were not coming as you had hoped that they would.
00:03There are times in a career when the phone stops ringing for whatever reason.
00:07Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're diving into some of the most shocking instances of actors putting their careers behind them.
00:14These celebrities are ones who have the courage to open up about why they have left, even though many of them have made comebacks since.
00:20I'm going to wash my hands of show business and head off.
00:23Oh my god, I loved it. It was the best 10 years of my life.
00:26Years before winning an Oscar, the Everything Everywhere All At Once actor had decided to step away from acting.
00:35Rather than a voluntary retirement, this was Kwan giving up on his dreams.
00:39When everyone in their late teens and early 20s and their whole future is ahead of them, all I saw for myself was just a dead end.
00:49There was no road for me to go any further. That was a very confusing time. I was so lost.
00:56He had a prolific career as a child actor, appearing in hits like Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and The Goonies.
01:03However, apparently casting directors weren't too keen on hiring an Asian actor for a major role.
01:07He told People Magazine that he was, quote, waiting for the phone to ring, and it rarely did.
01:12And honestly, you know, ever since I got back into acting, this has been such an emotional journey.
01:19I, you know, I've cried so much where my wife is so sick of me crying.
01:25And, you know, yeah, I'm so grateful that, you know, everybody, I thought everybody had forgotten about me.
01:31So he went to college and explored other jobs like directing and coordinating stunts.
01:36Times changed and EEAAO came around to give him a second shot at his dream.
01:42And this time, his career took off.
01:4538 years you've been dreaming of being here at the Golden Globes.
01:49You get here tonight and look what you get.
01:52Yeah, that's, that's true.
01:5638 years.
01:57Um, it feels incredible.
02:00Um, I can't believe I'm here.
02:04Daniel Kaluuya.
02:05We have Jordan Peele to thank for bringing this gem of an actor back into the industry after he had all but left.
02:11In an interview with Essence, Daniel Kaluuya revealed that he was ready to pack up and leave showbiz when Peele asked him to lead Get Out.
02:19Daniel starred in Black Mirror in 2011, but after that, he wasn't booking any gigs.
02:23And he said, yeah, I stopped acting for like a year and a half.
02:26I checked out because I was just like, this isn't working, bruv.
02:30I wasn't getting roles because racism and all this kind of stuff.
02:33After not working for over a year, which he attributed to racism in Hollywood, the enchantment of acting had worn off.
02:39No, I won't go, sir.
02:42He's lying.
02:43You've let me down.
02:44You've let the service down.
02:46And frankly, I think you've let yourself down.
02:48But I...
02:49Now get out!
02:51Thankfully, Peele came to the rescue with a stellar script that would go on to launch Kaluuya to unprecedented levels of fame.
02:58Yeah, it changed my whole life.
02:59It's still happening.
03:00Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
03:02It gets better with time.
03:04Does it?
03:05Yeah.
03:06I think I wasn't prepared.
03:08I don't think I chose it.
03:09I think I chose to make great work.
03:11I didn't really comprehend the repercussions of that.
03:15Yeah.
03:16In terms of my visibility.
03:17Lindsay Lohan.
03:18The Mean Girls actress is one of many women that Hollywood was particularly harsh on.
03:23She rose to fame at a young age and was held to impossible standards.
03:27Is it true that a Disney executive asked you at the premiere of that movie if your sister was there?
03:33Yes.
03:34Michael Eisner.
03:35Michael Eisner asked you that?
03:37Where's your twin?
03:38And I was like, and I was so young, I don't even know how I thought to say this, but I'll never forget what I said.
03:42And I said, well, you should have paid me double because I don't have one.
03:44So, when she did not live up to those expectations, the media was quick to turn on her.
03:49Speaking to Bustle, Lindsay candidly revealed that the negative press and constant paparazzi attention inevitably eclipsed her work as an actress.
03:57Lindsay tells Bustle in an interview published on March 14th, quote,
04:02She realized that the only way to escape the critical headlines was to move away from the spotlight, and so she shifted to Dubai, leaving her career behind.
04:21Fortunately, it was only a temporary hiatus as she returned to our screens with Netflix's Falling for Christmas and has since been taking on more projects.
04:30Vice President of Atmosphere? You just did that to take care of me.
04:35Well, maybe a little, but I...
04:36And I love you for it, and I'll always be your daughter. I just, I need to find my own way.
04:42Frankie Muniz. Sometimes you can have it all and still choose to walk away.
04:47This was the case with Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz, who left acting at the peak of his career.
04:53During those apparent glory days, he suffered multiple concussions, leading to memory issues.
04:58Do you really not remember going to Australia at all?
05:01I've seen pictures. I was on top of the Sydney, the Harbour Bridge or whatever, but I don't remember climbing it.
05:07His schedule was so jam-packed that he barely had time to look up at the sky, he told Stevo on his Wild Ride podcast.
05:14When I moved here, I realized as cheesy as it sounds, I started looking up for the first time.
05:20Like, looking...
05:21The clouds, the weather, the mountains, the long distance?
05:23Yeah, rather than like, I don't know, in LA, I just kind of like, kept my head down.
05:27Like, literally, kept my head down all the time.
05:30So, he gave it all up and forged a path for himself in open-wheel car racing, which he was passionate about.
05:36Looking back on his choice on the aforementioned podcast, he wondered how life would have turned out if he had continued acting,
05:42but assured fans that he did the right thing for himself.
05:45I can honestly say, like, racing right now is 100% my focus.
05:50I'm doing everything I can every day to be as prepared as possible.
05:54That said, we are about to start filming the Malcolm reboot during the season.
05:58I have a three-year-old, I have a wife, I'm building a house, and I'm trying to figure out that balance.
06:05Brendan Fraser.
06:06When the George of the Jungle actor was highly sought after in his early days, he faced burnout, physical and mental.
06:12To recover, he took some time off, but the break went on longer than he expected when the roles stopped coming in.
06:18And he's opening up to GQ about why he's been MIA from Hollywood for the better part of a decade, explaining, quote,
06:26I was going through things that mold and shape you in ways that you're not ready for until you go through them.
06:31To add to his difficulties, when he accused Philip Burke, the ex-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of sexual assault,
06:39he believed it put him on a blacklist.
06:41It made me retreat. It made me feel reclusive.
06:45Fraser says Burke grabbed him inappropriately in 2003 at a lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
06:52Fraser saying he was overcome with panic and fear.
06:55The experience had taken a major toll on Brendan, and he dealt with the trauma for a while.
07:00It was much later that he regained the confidence to return to Hollywood.
07:04Fraser says the claimed incident made him feel ill and like a little kid, and ultimately made him retreat.
07:10Meanwhile, Fraser says, quote, I became depressed.
07:14I was blaming myself, and I was miserable.
07:17When he did, it didn't take him long to soar again, as he bagged an Oscar for The Whale.
07:22Now that's inspiring.
07:25Mara Wilson.
07:25Arguably, one of the biggest child stars Hollywood has ever seen had a terrible time growing up under the spotlight.
07:32Mara Wilson, who stole hearts in films like Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda, said that she could not keep up with the unrealistic beauty standards of La La Land.
07:40When did you decide to break up with Hollywood?
07:43It was sort of a mutual breakup.
07:44When I was a teenager, Hollywood wasn't really that into me anymore, and I thought Hollywood was tedious and superficial.
07:50A rough patch followed, where she stopped being considered for roles that she wanted because of her appearance.
07:55And then deciding to leave it.
07:57You also get very personal.
07:59Is it cathartic to write about things like the loss of your mother at such a young age, or being diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder?
08:04Yeah, it definitely is. It's definitely cathartic, and I think that it's sort of like, if I can help people, I have this platform.
08:11At the time, she had developed a toxic relationship with acting after the passing of her mother, calling it a crutch that she was dependent on to cope with the grief.
08:19I thought that my mother had never gotten a chance to see the movie, but he said he actually brought a print of the movie to her while she was sick.
08:25Riddled with self-doubt, she no longer enjoyed the craft and decided to quit.
08:29These days, she's a writer, an occasional theatre and voice actor, and a prolific audiobook narrator.
08:36Not only where am I now, but where are you going? And you said you want to keep on writing.
08:41I want to keep on writing.
08:42Cameron Diaz. The rom-com legend paused her acting career for her real-life romance. How fitting.
08:48I met my husband, you know, we started a family. All of those things that I didn't have time for before,
08:54and didn't actually, not just not have the time for, but didn't have the space to make the decisions,
09:00the right decisions for me at the times to bring that in.
09:03Cameron Diaz, who married Benji Madden in 2015, felt compelled to take a step back from her thriving career to focus on her loved ones.
09:10She described it as an act of reclamation of her life, something she said she had to do.
09:15For me, I just really wanted to make my life manageable by me. You know, like, my routine in a day is literally what I can manage to do by myself.
09:26So, no matter how lucrative an offer she received, Diaz didn't hesitate to turn it down.
09:31Instead, during her break, she spent time with her two lovely kids, Radix and Cardinal,
09:35and directed her creative energy towards her wine brand, Aveline.
09:38I said no to everything. Other than for my wine, I started a wine company called Aveline.
09:44That was what I was putting most of my focus on, if I was doing anything other than just sort of being a mom and living my day-to-day.
09:50After over a decade, she responded to Hollywood's call and starred in the Netflix blockbuster Back in Action.
09:57Welcome back, Queen.
09:58Back in my day, children, 10 years ago, lots changed. It's a lot of change.
10:03Michael J. Fox. Decades may pass, but the impact this storied actor has had on Hollywood will remain indelible.
10:10Michael J. Fox, who had been acting from a young age, gave us unforgettable classics like Family Ties and Back to the Future.
10:17Even when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he had no intention of slowing down.
10:22Parkinson's is a gift.
10:23It's a gift that keeps on taking, but it's a gift.
10:26Every time I see you, I can see it's taken a little bit more of something.
10:30I've been 30-plus years. There's not many of us who have had disease for 30 years.
10:36Unfortunately, by 2020, his conditions started affecting his ability to memorize and deliver lines.
10:41He referred to this as a game-breaker in his memoir, No Time Like the Future, an optimist considers mortality.
10:48What about acting do you miss, and might you ever see yourself getting back in that spotlight in some place?
10:53I can see now because I'm in this situation, but I was good at it.
10:57However, acceptance followed as he told Empire he was peaceful about moving on.
11:03Since retiring, Fox has performed with Coldplay, is raising awareness for Parkinson's, and prioritizing his family, but has kept the door open for a comeback.
11:12A biomarker for Parkinson's, which could mean faster diagnosis and treatment.
11:18This changes everything. I know with where we are right now, in five years, we'll be able to tell if they have it.
11:27We'll be able to tell if they're ever going to get it. We'll know how to treat it.
11:29Rick Moranis.
11:30I think I still have a pair that is very similar to that. These have been in and out of style multiple times since the movie.
11:35To fans of the Ghostbusters actor, his retirement was a heartbreaking deal.
11:41In Rick's own words, he has no regrets whatsoever, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
11:46Moranis didn't originally intend to retire, but wanted to take some time off to care for his young children after the death of their mother and his wife, Anne Belsky, in 1991.
11:56Unexpectedly, the break got longer and longer, and we didn't hear from him until 2020.
12:00The short spate of films that I was in, in the 80s, happened to coincide with a renewed interest in science fiction.
12:09He was reportedly in talks to join a sequel of Honey, I Shrunk for Kids, but it was shelved.
12:14Later that year, he made a cameo in Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile ad at his behest, and made headlines after he was attacked by a man in New York.
12:22Unfortunately, that's all she wrote.
12:25What does that film mean to you 30 years later?
12:28Just how much fun it was.
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12:46Daniel Day-Lewis
12:47I felt the war demanded it.
12:50My oath demanded it.
12:53I felt right with myself, and I hoped it was legal to do it.
12:58I'm hoping still.
12:59The Lincoln lead has spoken candidly about his desire to leave acting on multiple occasions.
13:03He even went through with it once in the late 90s, when he dedicated months to learning the art of shoemaking from footwear craftsman Stefano Bema in Tuscany, Italy.
13:13However, when he announced that he'd be concluding his celebrated career in 2017, he was determined to stick with it.
13:20Daniel Day-Lewis is retiring from acting.
13:22His spokeswoman confirmed in the news, saying,
13:24Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor.
13:27He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years.
13:30This is a private decision, and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.
13:35End quote.
13:36Talking to W Magazine, he defined the urge to quit as an impulse that became a compulsion.
13:41Here's my theory about Daniel Day-Lewis.
13:43I think he's going to come back as another actor.
13:47And fool us all.
13:48Yeah.
13:48Like, there's going to be some young guy on the scene that's in, like, a bunch of indies, and they're like, he's amazing.
13:53And we're going to be like, that was Daniel Day-Lewis.
13:56Even so, it didn't take him long to return.
13:59After seven years, it was revealed that Daniel had co-written a film with his son Ronan called Anemone,
14:04which he would star in under the younger Day-Lewis' direction.
14:08Nepotism discourse aside, a win is a win.
14:11That's crazy, right?
14:12Such a good actor.
14:13Hopefully, like, boxing, he'll make a big comeback eventually.
14:15Which, once-retired actor, had the best comeback.
14:18Tell us in the comments down below.