Celebrities who quit acting

Celebrities who quit acting

Celebrities who quit acting. Sure, we’ve all had a bad day at work and wanted to throw in the towel, but how do you “quit” being a celebrity? Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman is the latest superstar to publicly hint at quitting the business. Here are some actors who tried to leave the business. Did any of them succeed? 

Ryan Phillippe
Just as his latest movie hits theaters, the young actor announced he was leaving the business. Here’s what he said. A rep is already denying the report. 

Amanda Bynes
The former Nickelodeon teen queen appeared in a modest Colin Firth hit and this cult fave before announcing that she was retiring in June 2010. She had a change of heart one month later.

Joaquin Phoenix
In 2008, the Oscar-nominated actor said “I’m done” with acting. What followed was a bizarre interview with David Letterman in 2009, followed by him un-retiring in 2010.

Evangeline Lilly
In 2009, the actress revealed plans to quit acting after the show that made her a star wrapped for good. But in an interview in 2010, she said she wouldn’t rule acting out but wanted to focus on upcoming mommy-hood. 

Phoebe Cates
Once a darling of teen films, she retired from acting in the mid-1990s to be a full-time mom, making only one brief appearance since as a favor to her famous best friend. 

Nicolas Cage
In 2008, he announced that he wanted to quit the business, but based on the fact that he has eight new films scheduled for release through 2012, he must have changed his mind. 

Sean Connery
The veteran actor retired from acting in 2005, and when asked about it in 2007 after winning a prestigious award, he confirmed that he had no intentions of returning—and has not yet. 

Alec Baldwin
In 2009, Baldwin said he plans to retire from acting. That remains to be seen, as he’s starring on a hit sitcom and has hosted this show 15 times. 

Angelina Jolie
In 2010, the vixen hinted in a Vanity Fair interview that she wouldn’t be acting much longer, but she has movie releases through 2013, including one about a historical figure. Who knows what the future holds?

Viggo Mortensen
He announced in 2009 that he was exhausted and would be quitting the business. But Mortensen joined the cast of a famous book-based film in 2010, and is attached to two more films in the next year.

Debra Winger
She quit the business in 1995, and didn’t reappear on screen until Rosanna Arquette’s documentary that bore Winger’s name in 2002. She returned to acting shortly after, getting critical praise for return in this film. 

Leonard Nimoy
The “Star Trek” actor announced his retirement from acting in 2010, but he still continues his role in a sci-fi cult fave series and provides a character voice in an upcoming big-budget film. So he’s not exactly retired, right?

Emma Watson
She seems a little young to retire, but in 2009 she announced her plans to do just that so she could attend college and “find herself” after her mega-hit film series wrapped. After 18 months, she’s left school and has several films coming up, including this one. 

Anthony Hopkins
The legendary actor first said he wanted to quit acting in 1998, then again in 2006—but he never really left the public eye for long. In fact, he has a big role in one of the most-anticipated summer blockbusters.

Gene Hackman
In 2008, Hackman quit the acting business and briefly toured with a historical novel he co-wrote. He has not returned to the silver screen.