Cameron Diaz says she would have been a ‘fool’ not to return to acting after 10-year hiatus: ‘Grateful for it’

Cameron Diaz opening up her return to acting.

During the January 17 episode of The Graham Norton Showthe actress, 52, appeared with her Back in action costs Jamie Foxx to discuss their new film, her first in a decade, and shared how Foxx, 57, influenced her decision to make a comeback.

“I’m back all thanks to Jamie,” she said. “I had 10 years without paying attention to anything; wouldn’t accept any advances, and then I got this script and thought maybe it was time.”

She added: “If I had to leave my family for 10 hours a day, I would do it with the most talented man in the entertainment business.”

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“It’s a privilege to make movies and we’re all so lucky to do what we do,” she continued. “That the door was even open to me after a decade was amazing.”

The holiday Star went on to say, “I loved those 10 years for me and my family, but I thought, ‘If I let it go, if I don’t get engaged again and if I don’t give it a chance, I’m a fool .’ “

“It may be the beginning of something, but it’s here now and I’m grateful for that,” she added.

During an interview with Empire Last month, Diaz revealed that it is “hard to say” whether she will return for another film after the Netflix action comedy,

“I don’t know how I look at it. It’s hard to say,” Diaz said when asked about it Back in action marks a permanent return. “If I say it, it becomes this thing. I reserve the right to say no to ever making a movie again, and I reserve the right to say yes if I decide to.”

The Berlin premiere of Back in action on January 15 marked Diaz’s first film premiere in 11 years. The mother-of-two wore baggy jeans, a see-through black top, a long trench coat and a bold lip for the red carpet as she posed with Foxx.

Related: Benji Madden Congratulates ‘My Queen’ Cameron Diaz on Her Movie Return, Marks 10th Anniversary with Rare Couple Pic

Back in action follows former CIA spies Emily and Matt as they return to work after their secret identities are revealed.

Diaz’s last film was 2014’s Anniewhere she also starred alongside Foxx. The duo first appeared together on screen in the 1999s Any given Sunday.

The other woman star revealed in June 2022 that she would be returns to actingwhere Foxx narrates Entertainment tonight at the time he convinced her to come back promise they would have fun.

“So it was literally, ‘Do you want to have fun? Just have fun!’ And I think that’s what brought her to it,” Foxx said. “We sometimes miss special moments in our business, and I think this is a special moment. So we’re so happy it’s happening and looking forward to it.”

Diaz – who shares a daughter Radix5, and son Cardinal, 11 months, with husband Benji Madden – revealed on Kevin Hart‘s Peacock talk show, Heart to Heart, in 2021 that she realized around the age of 40 that there were “so many parts of my life … that I wasn’t touching” or “controlling”.

“I just really would make my life manageable of me,” she explained of her retirement. “My routine in a day is literally what I can do by myself.”

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In one behind the scenes interview from her new film, Diaz also shared how she prioritized only two things during her hiatus: her family and her wine company, Avaline.

“That’s what I focused on the most,” Diaz explained. “If I was doing something other than just being a mom and living my day to day.”

“That was pretty much it,” she continued. “I’m just trying to stay alive like all other mothers. I just try to keep it going.”

Back in action will be available to stream on Netflix on Friday, January 17.

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