Elisha Cuthbert revealed why she stepped away from Hollywood for four years as she stepped back into the spotlight.
The “Girl Next Door” star, 43, said she put acting on hold to spend more time with her children and husband, former NHL star Dion Phaneuf, before she made her return in the new Prime Video series “Every Year After.”
“I realized I worked all four years through our first child and it was really hard,” Cuthbert said during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” Tuesday.
“To separate that mom from the working person I was. So, when we had our second, I just felt like I didn’t want to waste any second of it and I didn’t want to be on set.”
“I just felt like I needed to be at home with the kids and I enjoyed every minute,” she added.
Cuthbert’s role in “Every Year After” marks her first major acting project in four years, following the 2022 crime film “Bandit,” in which she starred alongside Mel Gibson.
The Canadian, who got her start as a child model before making her acting debut at 13, rose to fame in the early 2000s with a string of TV and movie roles, including fan-favorite comedies “The Girl Next Door” and “Old School” as well as the hit drama “24.”
Her last major role was in the Netflix sitcom “The Ranch,” which ran for four seasons and ended in 2020, with Cuthbert taking only a handful of smaller roles following the series’ conclusion.
Now, with her children — daughter Zaphire, born in 2017, and son Fable, born in 2022 — getting older, Cuthbert said she feels ready to return to work.
“They’re in school now full time,” she explained on “Today.” “I feel like I have the space and the energy and the heart to kind of leave them and do it.”
Cuthbert also reflected on the pressures that came with fame during the height of her career in the 2000s, saying she’s glad “Every Year After” star Sadie Soverall, 24, won’t have to face the same scrutiny.
“It was a lot of pressure,” she said. “Sadie Soverall, it’s nice that she’s in a time now where she doesn’t have to worry about those things. It’s very different.”
In the coming-of-age drama, which is based on Carley Fortune’s bestselling novel, Cuthbert plays Sue, the mother of Sam (Matt Cornett) and Charlie (Michael Bradway).
The actress admitted she wasn’t familiar with Fortune’s books before joining the project.
“It’s crazy because I hadn’t read any of Carley’s books and then I got on the show,” she said. “Obviously had the script, but I wanted to read the novel. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m a superfan now.’”
“So, I read all her books, they’re amazing. I recommend them,” she added.