Renée Zellweger on Why She Took an Acting Hiatus for Six Years

Renée Zellweger is opening up about why she took a break from acting.

In an interview with British Vogue published Wednesday, the Bridget Jones’s Diary star was joined by her co-star Hugh Grant for a conversation. Zellweger reflected on her acting hiatus from 2010 to 2016.

When asked why she did it, Zellweger said, “Because I needed to. I was sick of the sound of my own voice. When I was working, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, listen to you. Are you sad again, Renée? Oh, is this your mad voice?’ It was a regurgitation of the same emotional experiences.”

While taking a hiatus, Zellweger said she kept busy. “I wrote music and studied international law. I built a house, rescued a pair of older doggies, created a partnership that led to a production company, advocated for and fundraised with a sick friend, and spent a lot of time with family and godchildren and driving across the country with the dogs. I got healthy.”

In 2010, the actress paused her acting career after filming the movie My Own Love Song. She returned in 2016 to reprise her role as Bridget Jones for Bridget Jones’s Baby.

At the time of her return in 2016, Zellweger had previously opened up to British Vogue about why the hiatus was needed.

“As a creative person, saying no to that wonderful once-in-a-lifetime project is hard,” she said. “But I was fatigued and wasn’t taking the time I needed to recover between projects, and it caught up with me.”

She also explained that during that period she “found anonymity” and “could have exchanges with people on a human level and be seen and heard, not be defined by this image that precedes me when I walk into a room.”

“You cannot be a good storyteller if you don’t have life experiences, and you can’t relate to people,” she said.

Now, Zellweger is once again reprising her Bridget Jones role for Bridget Jones: Mad About a Boy.

“I love her,” Zellweger said of why she returned to portray the character. “And her story is not finished. As long as Helen [Fielding] puts pen to paper, she’s alive.”

In Bridget Jones: Mad About a Boy, Bridget Jones is reeling after the loss of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and navigating life as a single mom. She eventually finds herself in two possible romances a teacher at her children’s school (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a younger man (Leo Woodall).

The film is the fourth in the franchise and follows Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016). Mad About the Boy will head directly to streaming in the U.S. via Peacock on Feb. 13.