11 Actors Who Got Honest About Taking Breaks From Hollywood, Including Some Who Were Left So “Burnt Out” And Exhausted By Extremely Taxing Roles

This article briefly mentions sexual assault.

Whether it’s to focus on their personal lives or because they’re incredibly burnt out, it’s not uncommon for celebrities to take hiatuses from Hollywood. Here’s a look at 11 actors’ reasons for temporarily stepping back from the big screen:

1. Tom Holland took a year off from acting after his role in the series The Crowded Room took a huge toll on his mental health. “I really enjoyed it, but then again, the show did break me… I’m now taking a year off, and that is a result of how difficult this show was,” he shared in 2023.

2. Post-Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio took a break for a couple of years to escape the “intense” public attention he was receiving. “It was a very surreal time period. It was bizarre. I took a break for a couple of years because it was so intense. I needed to recharge and refocus,” he recalled in 2016.

3. In 2021, Jennifer Lawrence recalled stepping back from the spotlight after feeling like the public had gotten “sick” of her. “I just think everybody had gotten sick of me. I'd gotten sick of me. It had just gotten to a point where I couldn't do anything right,” she said.

4. Rachel McAdams took a 2-year break from acting in the 2000s after starring in a string of super successful films, like Mean Girls and The Notebook. “I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given, because I knew I was in such a lucky spot. But I also knew it wasn't quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane,” she shared.

5. In 2022, Sandra Bullock revealed that she was “going to not spend time in front of the camera for a while” due to feeling “so burnt out” and exhausted. “I don't want to be beholden to anyone's schedule other than my own. I'm so burnt out. I'm so tired, and I'm so not capable of making healthy, smart decisions, and I know it,” she said.

6. Brendan Fraser stepped away from the spotlight after experiencing sexual assault in 2003 by the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Phillip W. Berk. The HFPA found that Berk “inappropriately touched” Brendan but it was "intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance." Brendan eventually made his comeback in the 2022 film The Whale, which landed him a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

7. Cameron Diaz took a 10-year hiatus from acting, focusing on her personal life. After marrying Good Charlotte singer Benji Madden in 2015 and becoming a mom of two, Cameron eventually made her return to screens, starring in the 2025 Netflix film Back in Action.

8. A few years ago, Emma Watson recalled taking a long break from the industry after she began feeling “caged” and limited. Admitting that she “wasn’t very happy,” Emma explained, “I think I felt a bit caged. The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn’t have very much control over. To stand in front of a film and have every journalist be able to say, ‘How does this align with your viewpoint?’ It was very difficult to have to be the face and the spokesperson for things where I didn’t get to be involved in the process.”

9. In 2022, Chris Hemsworth revealed he was taking a break from acting after discovering that he had a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease. “I'm going home, and I'm going to have a good chunk of time off and just simplify. Be with the kids, be with my wife,” he said, later adding, “I wanted to take off because I've been working for 10 years, and I've got three kids that I want to spend more time with.”

10. Matthew McConaughey once stepped away from the spotlight after feeling like he was being typecast in Hollywood and therefore struggling to bag the roles he wanted. After a 2-year hiatus, he eventually made his return in films like Dallas Buyers Club and The Wolf of Wall Street.

11. In 2023, Emily Blunt revealed she was taking a year off from acting to spend more meaningful time with her children. “This year, I’m not working. I worked quite a bit last year and my oldest baby is 9, so we’re in the last year of single digits,” she said.

12. Josh Hartnett — who was literally everywhere from the late 90s to mid 00s — stepped away from the limelight after finding his immense fame “overwhelming.” He shared in 2021, “I really enjoy making films, but the industry itself was overwhelming for a 21-year-old kid. The press was a little bit different back then; there was paparazzi around every corner — you couldn't really go anywhere without being sort of harassed.”

13. And finally, Daniel Kaluuya revealed that he took a break from acting for a year and a half after feeling “disillusioned” by the lack of jobs he was being offered due to racism. “I checked out, because I was just like, this isn't working. I wasn't getting roles, because racism and all this kind of stuff—so [Jordan Peele] reaching out was like, ‘Okay, I'm not crazy. It’s proper. It's going to be all right,’” he shared during an interview with Essence.

Can you think of any more examples? Let me know in the comments.