Shailene Woodley says she had to 'let go' of her career in her early 20s over a 'scary physical situation'

Shailene Woodley has shared that she was "very, very sick" in her early 20s while filming the Divergent movies and that her situation had an impact on her career as a result.

The actor starred as Tris Prior in the three films of the series, with the first being released in 2014, but that she was dealing with a "very scary physical situation" at the time.

"I haven't spoken much about this yet publicly, and I will one day, but I was very, very sick in my early 20s," the 28-year-old told the New York Times. "While I was doing the Divergent movies and working hard, I also was struggling with a deeply personal, very scary physical situation.

"Because of that, I said no to a lot of opportunities because I needed to get better, and those jobs ended up going to peers of mine who I love.

"They went on to a lot of success, but there was a mix of people saying, 'You shouldn't have let that go!' or 'You shouldn't have been sick!'

A fourth Divergent film was originally planned for a release in 2017, however, after being postponed it was eventually cancelled.

The star added that she had to "let go" of her career at the time but was now "on the other side of it" and had been focusing on her mental health in the last few years.

Her TV role in Big Little Lies from 2017-2019 as Jane Chapman proved to be a big success as she was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award as well as Golden Globe.

Woodley went on to feature in films Snowden and Adrift after the Divergent series. Her latest movie, Endings, Beginnings was set for a May 2020 release but its launch has been brought forward and will now be a digital one as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.