Renee Zellweger has a "new perspective" after taking a six-year acting hiatus.
Renee Zellweger
The 47-year-old star is making her movie comeback in 'Bridget Jones's Baby' - in which she reprises the titular character for the third time - and thinks being able to spend some time directing benefitted her work in front of the camera.
She said: "I have a new perspective. I worked on the other side of the camera quite a bit while I was taking a little filming hiatus."
Renee admits her decision to make a comeback was a "gradual" one as she slowly began to realise she was missing Hollywood and her career.
She said: "It was a really gradual thing. I just started looking around, reading some things. I was just curious and had missed it.
The 'Cold Mountain' star felt it was important to take a break when she did as there were things she wanted to accomplish that she knew she'd never get round to if she didn't stop working.
Speaking at a 'Bridget Jones's Baby' press conference, she said: "I wanted to learn something new and grow as a person and see if I had aptitude for these things that interest me. And if not now, it would be, 'Oh in two more years, or three years, then ten years', and then just, ultimately, you just don't do them. And I didn't want that to happen."
And as a result, Renee hopes she's now a more rounded and "less boring" person.
She said: "I hope I'm a little less boring than I might have been after just 25 years of being an actress and being in that cycle of making films.
"I wanted to learn something that had nothing to do with researching a character. I wanted to learn some things beyond the scope of what you are exposed to in filmmaking in Hollywood."
The actress recently admitted it was "scary" reprising her role as Bridget because she didn't want to let any fans of the film series down.
She said: "It was scary coming back.
"Especially since I love this character and didn't want to disappoint anybody. I always feel a slight twinge of impostor syndrome when I go to work - it's an ever-present sentiment for me that I'll be thinking, 'OK, this is the time I'm going to be discovered and fired' - and after being away for so long, it was strong this time."
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