For a few years Renee Zellweger was the hottest actress in Hollywood.
She charmed audiences all around the world as the ridiculously relatable Bridget Jones, whom we loved just as she was. She won an Oscar for her work in Cold Mountain and was nominated for the acclaimed adaptation of Chicago.
Then it all sort of fell apart, and around 2010 she just sort of… disappeared.
Years later she returned for a third Bridget Jones film — and is set to take her biggest comeback step yet this year (and maybe more awards) when the Judy Garland biopic Judy hits in September.
Video: See Renee’s Transformation In The Moving Trailer
Now she’s opening up more about what drove her away in the first place.
She previously mentioned suffering from “imposter syndrome” — saying she felt like she was undeserving of the accolades. But there was definitely something more to it.
In the latest issue of Red magazine, she explains:
“I got some bad advice. I made some pretty bad choices… It was pretty dark. And sad. But I don’t look at it as wasted life, because I learned a lot from it — and that’s what I needed, I guess. I learned a lot about perspective. To recognize different patterns of my behavior. To understand different consequences. And so I’m just grateful. Grateful to have learned and to do something different.”
Over the past couple years, we’ve found out so many actresses who disappeared from Hollywood were driven out by sexual misconduct at the hands of Harvey Weinstein; we’re happy to learn this had nothing to do with that!
No, this was a personal decision. Renee says:
“I was away for a while and, in all honesty, it was because I wasn’t taking care of myself. I looked like I wasn’t taking care of myself. I felt like I wasn’t taking care of myself. And I was so bored with myself.”
Bored?? But her performances were so varied! And human!
Apparently she didn’t think so, at least not toward the end:
“It had got to the point where I felt like I was sitting beside myself when I was filming, watching myself and rolling my eyes. And going, ‘Oh, shut up!’ And, ‘Oh, there you are… doing that thing you do again.'”
That’s so sad. But she made what she still feels is a healthy decision, so we support it. She says:
“And so I decided to go away. Become more interesting! Do something else.”
So now that she is back, obviously we all have to ask.
Is there a possibility for another Bridget Jones sequel? After that last one, we could use a better note to go out on.
Just sayin’…
Happily, Renee says she’s down for a fourth!
“I mean, if that’s what Helen [Fielding] wants to do, it sounds fun.”
Renee says the character truly is a part of her now:
“I don’t think Bridget ever really leaves. She’s always there, particularly if I have a live television event or red carpet. And I love her — she makes me laugh. I mean, she’s always a delight.”
That’s how we feel about Renee!
[Image via CBS/WENN.]
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