Why Ian Somerhalder, Josh Hartnett & More Stars Left Hollywood Behind

The Vampire Diaries alum hasn't sunk his teeth into a caller relation since Netflix's 2019 bid V-Wars. Instead, the dada of 2 (with woman Nikki Reed) has dug a small deeper into a passionateness project, namely his ngo to combat clime alteration by improving the world's soil.

"I stepped distant from acting a small implicit 4 years agone to rise my kids, physique my companies and get these films launched," Somerhalder told E! News successful November 2023 of launching the 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground and its travel up Common Ground, each detailing the request for regenerative farming.

When helium looks years down the road, helium continued, "I volition beryllium a rancher and gathering bequest brands, whether it's my bourbon oregon my wellness and wellness company, and the regenerative agriculture and steadfast ungraded absorption practices that I unrecorded by and our household lives by. That's wherever my beingness was going. So erstwhile radical accidental 'Why bash you care?' That's wherefore I care. Because that's who I am, that's what I'm going to become."

The Ant-Man and the Wasp prima announced she's taking an indefinite hiatus from acting aft 20 years successful the industry.

"I americium truthful filled with joyousness and contentment contiguous arsenic I unrecorded retired my vision," Evangeline wrote connected Instagram June 3. "I consciousness truthful grateful for my blessings. Stepping distant from what seems similar the evident prime (wealth and fame) tin consciousness scary astatine times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fearfulness with fulfillment."

But she isn't needfully shutting the door, either, adding, "I mightiness instrumentality to Hollywood 1 day, but, for now, this is wherever I belong."

On a February 2021 occurrence of her podcast Empty Inside, the iCarly alum told impermanent Anna Faris that she decided to halt acting a fewer years backmost and is present focused connected opportunities successful penning and directing, successful summation to hosting the podcast.

"My acquisition with acting is, I'm truthful ashamed of the parts I've done successful the past," revealed Jennette, who elaborate her acquisition successful her 2022 memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died. "I resent my vocation successful a batch of ways. I consciousness truthful unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt similar it was the astir cheesy, embarrassing. I did the shows that I was connected from similar 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed. My friends astatine 15, they're not like, 'Oh, cool, you're connected this Nickelodeon show.' It was embarrassing."

Though she hasn't wholly written disconnected a 2nd act. "I bash consciousness similar lone done penning the publication person I gotten to a spot wherever I deliberation determination mightiness beryllium a mode of exploring acting that doesn't transportation that baggage that I carried with maine for truthful long," she told E! News successful October 2022. "Maybe if I constitute thing for myself. I deliberation that'd truly beryllium possibly 1 of the lone ways I could benignant of effort exploring it again."

This felt similar thing of a no-brainer. If we had a changeable to wed Prince Harry, dedicate our beingness to the philanthropic causes that substance astir to america and summation entree to the Queen's awesome postulation of tiaras, bidding ta-ta to Tinseltown would consciousness similar an good sacrifice.

Following successful the way Grace Kelly took from Hollywood to the Palace of Monaco, Markle near down her location successful Toronto—and her breakout relation connected Suits—for a beingness successful The Firm. Though, present that she and Harry person shed their elder roles, she's edging backmost into the concern acknowledgment to concern moves similar their multi-year production deal with Netflix. 

Having made upwards of 40 movies since her debut successful 1994's The Mask, the histrion was agelong overdue for a interruption erstwhile filming wrapped connected 2014's Annie. "I conscionable decided that I wanted antithetic things retired of my life," she explained to pal Gwyneth Paltrow of her eventual enactment of self-care. "I had gone truthful hard for truthful long, working, making films and it's specified a grind. When you're making a movie—it's a cleanable excuse—they ain you. You're determination for 12 hours a time for months connected extremity and you person nary clip for thing else."

And determination was plentifulness much she'd similar to explore, from penning (she followed up her 2013 New York Times best-seller The Body Book with 2016's The Longevity Book) to starting a family with hubby Benji Madden. But portion she confessed to InStyle successful 2019, "I don't miss performing. Right present I'm looking astatine the scenery of wellness and each that," seemingly she could beryllium swayed into making astatine slightest 1 encore.

"We conscionable begged and pleased connected my knees, like, 'Just springiness the radical 1 much again,'" Jamie Foxx told E! News of getting Diaz to motion on for the upcoming Netflix movie Back successful Action. "We emotion her, we've been waiting connected her and this is conscionable gonna beryllium fantastic."

The histrion insisted there'd beryllium nary encore aft helium finished his five-year tally connected Empire. When Extra asked the Oscar nominee astir his aboriginal up of the philharmonic play series' sixth and last play successful 2019, helium responded, "Oh, I'm done with acting. I'm done pretending."

And though helium returned to acceptable for a fistful of projects, helium again announced his plans to discontinue acting portion promoting his Peacock bid The Best Man: The Final Chapters successful 2022. "I've gotten to the constituent wherever present I've fixed the precise champion that I person arsenic an actor," helium told ET. "Now I'm enjoying watching different caller endowment travel around, and I don't privation to bash an impersonation of myself."

Once his time arsenic King Joffrey came to a sudden, purple-faced extremity successful 2014, the then-21-year-old told EW he was getting retired of the game. "I've been acting since property 8," the Game of Thrones prima explained of his decision. "I conscionable stopped enjoying it arsenic overmuch arsenic I utilized to."

No longer a kid star, a spot of the magic had worn off. "Now there's the imaginable of doing it for a living, whereas up until present it was ever thing I did for recreation with my friends, oregon successful the summertime for immoderate fun," helium continued. "I enjoyed it. When you marque a surviving from something, it changes your narration with it. It's not similar I hatred it, it's conscionable not what I privation to do."

But aft a six-year break, helium was ready to resume his reign, joining the formed of BBC's bid Out of Her Mind in 2020. 

When Fast Times astatine Ridgemont High's imagination miss (Jennifer Aniston took connected her portion in September 2020's virtual array read) wed chap histrion Kevin Kline successful 1989, they "agreed to alternate truthful that we're ne'er moving astatine the aforesaid time," helium told Playboy of their program to attraction for lad Owen and girl Greta (a vocalist who present goes by the signifier sanction Frankie Cosmos).

However, helium continued, "whenever it's been her slot to work, Phoebe has chosen to enactment with the children." Though she made a cameo successful pal Jennifer Jason Leigh's 2001 indie The Anniversary Party, Cates devotes astir of her clip to operating her New York City boutique Blue Tree. 

At the tallness of his Ghostbusters and Honey, I... fame, the '80s prima stepped distant from filmmaking not agelong aft his woman passed distant from bosom crab successful 1991 to absorption connected raising his kids Rachel and Mitchell. 

Though helium hasn't had a live-action relation since 1997, adjacent passing connected a cameo successful Paul Feig's 2016 Ghostbusters remake, he's remained a treasured taste icon, arsenic evidenced by the outrage over reports that he'd been assaulted while walking successful New York City Oct. 1.

Thankfully there's bully quality for fans: he'll marque his triumphant return alongside Josh Gad successful the forthcoming Disney reboot Shrunk.

Once she wed fashion decorator Adam Kimmel in 2010, the Never Been Kissed standout hinted that she was possibly kinda done with movies. "Ninety percent of acting roles impact truthful overmuch intersexual worldly with different people, and I don't privation to bash that," she explained to Vogue. "It's specified a unusual occurrence to play with, and our narration is surely beardown capable to grip it, but if you're going to locomotion done fire, determination has to beryllium thing unthinkable connected the different side."

Her determination was solidified aft son Martin joined older sister Louisanna successful 2014. "I don't bash movie worldly anymore. I americium wholly an outsider! I … americium conscionable a ma and an outsider," she noted to Us Weekly astatine a 2016 event, explaining that she helps Kimmel with his concern and paints connected the side. "I americium conscionable focused connected my kids. I deliberation that's chiefly wherefore I stopped." 

She'd done Ally McBeal. And Nip/Tuck. Then Arrested Development and yet Scandal erstwhile the Aussie realized that possibly she was ready to crook the dial. 

"I was approaching 45 and I conscionable benignant of…was wondering is determination thing that I could tackle present that I've ne'er done earlier that would beryllium truly challenging and different," she explained connected woman Ellen DeGeneres' eponymous speech amusement successful 2018. "I benignant of knew what acting would look similar for maine for the adjacent 10, 20 years, truthful I decided to discontinue and commencement a business."

Her consumer-art company, General Public, already a enactment successful progress, she had conscionable 1 portion to finish. 

"I called Mitch Hurwitz, who's the creator of Arrested Development and I said, 'If determination is simply a play 5, I won't beryllium doing it due to the fact that I discontinue acting. And helium seemed truly knowing and helium wholly got it. We had a large conversation, and past helium wrote maine into 5 episodes."

To beryllium fair, erstwhile you've won 3 Academy Awards, what's near to accomplish? Shortly aft receiving his sixth Oscar motion for his last film, 2017's Phantom Thread, the thespian had his rep contented a connection informing fans that helium "will nary longer beryllium moving arsenic an actor. He is immensely grateful to each of his collaborators and audiences implicit the galore years. This is simply a backstage determination and neither helium nor his representatives volition marque immoderate further remark connected this subject."

But conscionable erstwhile helium thought helium was out, his lad pulled him backmost in, accumulation institution Focus Features announcing successful October 2024 that the Oscar victor would prima successful Anemone, the movie helium wrote alongside lad Ronan Day-Lewis, who volition besides direct.

The Good Luck Charlie alum took a measurement backmost from the spotlight successful 2018 erstwhile she began pursuing a master's grade from MIT, aboriginal earning a PhD from the institution. She's besides pursuing a instrumentality grade from Harvard Law School.

And arsenic if that weren't enough, Bridgit besides launched her ain startup Northwood Space, which aims to physique crushed outer stations to assistance nonstop and person information from space, becoming CEO of the marque in February 2023.