Cameron Diaz returns to acting for her first role in 8 years: ‘I feel excited’

Consider this former Charlie’s Angel un-retired. Netflix revealed today that Cameron Diaz is returning to the acting game in the upcoming feature Back in Action for the streaming service — her first onscreen role since 2014’s Annie eight long years ago. And according to Netflix, it was her co-star in that movie musical remake — Jamie Foxx — that convinced her to come out of retirement for another collaboration.

The Oscar-winning Ray star had the receipts to back that claim up, posting the audio from his conversation with Diaz about how to properly make an “I’m un-retired” announcement. “I feel excited, but I don’t know how to do this,” the actress admits in the recording. Foxx then brings in a ringer to walk her through the process: frequently un-retired football legend, Tom Brady.

“I was talking to Jamie and he said you need a few tips on how to un-retire,” Brady says. “I’m relatively successful at un-retiring.” Diaz clearly appreciates the expert advice. “Honestly, exactly what I needed,” she says laughing.

Foxx and Diaz didn’t spill any other details about Back in Action, but the title suggests they’ll both be in fighting shape for the film. It’ll be Diaz’s first action-heavy role since 2010’s Knight and Day, which paired her with famous stunt-lover Tom Cruise. The actress stepped away from acting in 2014, pursuing other opportunities from writing books to launching the organic wine brand Avaline. In 2015, she married musician Benji Madden, and the two welcomed their daughter, Raddix, four years later.

Story continues

Diaz officially announced her retirement from acting in 2018 after her friend, Selma Blair, accidentally broke the news in an interview with the U.K.’s Daily Star Sunday. She elaborated on her decision in a 2021 interview with Kevin Hart on his Peacock series, Hart to Hart.

“When you do something at a really high level for a long period of time, when you’re the person that’s sort of delivering on this one thing, everything around you, all parts of you that isn’t that, has to sort of be handed off to other people,” Diaz explained at the time. “Just, the management of me as a human being … Cameron Diaz is a machine. But for my personal, spiritual self, I was realizing that one part of me that functioned at a high level wasn’t enough.”

Fans on Twitter are already setting themselves to binge mode for when Back in Action drops on Netflix.