Drew Barrymore Doesn’t Want To Return To Acting Anytime Soon

[ShadeShadow]

Drew Barrymore won't be acting in film or television projects anytime soon. The star, who was born into a dynasty of highly-regarded entertainers, has been performing since childhood. Barrymore quickly dove into the family business, making her big-screen debut at five-years-old in Ken Russell's 1980 science-fiction flick Altered States. Two years later, she catapulted to another level of fame for charming audiences as Gertie, the little sister in Steven Spielberg's masterpiece E.T.: The Extraterrestrial.

E.T.'s success was a game-changer for Barrymore. At age seven, she began appearing on talk shows to promote the film and even became the youngest person ever to host Saturday Night Live. As her career blossomed, the actor would go on to host many more times in the future, but not before navigating some bumps in the road. Unfortunately, early success stinted Barrymore for a while. She later recounted her traumas, which included substance abuse, in her autobiography Little Girl Lost.

Barrymore opened up about the current state of her acting career to Andy Cohen on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live. While she was there to discuss her latest venture - hosting The Drew Barrymore Show on CBS - the conversation dipped into her acting career. When the Bravo mogul asked if she will consider making more movies in the future, Barrymore had a quick answer:
 

"If I’m being honest, the answer is no, I don’t want to be on a film set right now, but that could change when my kids are older. I stopped doing these when my kids were born because I've done it since I was in diapers. At 11-months-old is when I started... It was a no-brainer to me to put making movies on a back burner so that I could be present and raise my kids myself. I didn’t want to be on a film set asking the nanny how the kids were."

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In addition to watching her kids grow up, Barrymore elaborated that stepping away from acting gave her clarity and opened the door for more opportunities. That doesn't mean she won't dive back in for the right project, of course. The entertainer said her last onscreen role came along at just the right time. Barrymore executive produced and starred in Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet, a part she said saved her at the time.

There's certainly a hole in Hollywood without Drew's relatable and quirky presence. Fortunately for fans, she's still in the entertainment landscape, albeit in a new way, by leading The Drew Barrymore Show. One of the biggest draws for viewers is seeing Barrymore's famous friends pop by for a chat. The debut episode enticed audiences by featuring guest appearances by Barrymore's former Charlie's Angels co-stars Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz.

The latter is another example of a hard-working star who needed to press pause on acting. Rumors that Diaz retired plagued the industry until the rom-com Queen recently addressed things herself. If history has provided one lesson on actors quitting the business, they never entirely leave. While reprieves are essential for mental health and personal reasons, real veterans of the craft can never seem to stay out of the limelight for long. Especially if a once-in-a-lifetime role comes knocking. Like Drew Barrymore implied: never say never.