Yahoo News Evangeline Lilly Says She's 'Stepping Away' From Acting: 'A New Season Has Arrived'
A little more than a year after her last big-screen venture, Evangeline Lilly says she’s officially taking a breather from the spotlight.
The Golden Globe nominee, best known for her portrayal of Kate Austen on the ABC series “Lost,” confirmed on social media this week that she was “stepping away” from acting for the foreseeable future.
“I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision. Praise God, I feel so grateful for my blessings,” she wrote on Instagram Monday. “Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment.”
Lilly, whose credits also include “The Hurt Locker” and “The Hobbit,” shared her note alongside a throwback video of herself from 2006 in which she shared her hope of being “retired” from acting within a decade.
“I would like to have a family, and I’d like to be writing, and potentially, maybe, influencing people’s lives in more humanitarian ways,” she noted in the clip.
In her note, Lilly said she “might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong.” And though she kept mum on details of what her next professional endeavors may entail, she added: “A new season has arrived, and I AM READY...and I AM HAPPY.”
The announcement immediately raised questions about the future of the “Ant-Man” films. Lilly portrayed Hope van Dyne in the Marvel Cinematic Universe trilogy. She made her most recent big-screen appearance in 2023′s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which was widely considered a box office disappointment.
Lilly, who hails from Alberta, Canada, had hinted at her desire to move on from her chosen profession in interviews for years.
“I consider acting a day job — it’s not my dream; it’s not my be-all, end-all,” she told New York Magazine’s Vulture blog in 2010. “So I’ll continue to read scripts and I’ll continue to keep my mind open, but it’s not something I’m pursuing with any kind of intent.”
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in October 2021 as part of a 10th anniversary retrospective of the film “Real Steel,” Lilly once again noted that she’d considered leaving Hollywood behind after the sixth and final season of “Lost” aired in 2010.
“When ‘Lost’ was over, I was going to wash my hands of acting and move on with a quiet life,” the mother of two said, before noting: “I think you could credit [‘Real Steel’ director Shawn Levy] to a certain degree for the fact that I’m still acting today.”
