It’s been eight years since Cameron Diaz stopped acting. But now, the Charlie’s Angels star is out of retirement and back with a new movie. The 50-year-old actress will star alongside Jamie Foxx in the Netflix movie, Back in Action.
Diaz discussed her comeback as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and explained why Back in Action was the ideal title for her next movie.
“I was like, so hey, guys, what’s the title of this? And they were like Back in Action,” she recalled. “I was like oh! I can really feel very connected to this character already.”
She also confirmed that she is both “nervous” and “excited” for her next venture.
“It’s a little bit of muscle memory, you know what I mean? I did that for so long, it’s kind of like the process — I just fell back into it,” she noted. “But it feels a little bit different.”
The star, who worked on 2014’s Annie and 1999’s Any Given Sunday with Foxx, said it helped to reunite with an old friend.
“The last movie I made was Annie with Jamie, and so the first movie back is this film with Jamie,” she said. “He’s so great, he’s so easy, he’s so professional, he’s so talented. And just being able to work with him, it’ll be so much fun.”
Her Back in Action co-star is credited with getting Diaz in front of the camera for the upcoming Netflix film. The Ray actor shared a snippet of the phone call where he got the There’s Something About Mary star to un-retire.
“Cameron I hope you aren’t mad I recorded this, but no turning back now. Had to call in the GOAT to bring back another GOAT. @CameronDiaz and I are BACK IN ACTION – our new movie with @NetflixFilm . Production starting later this year!!” Foxx tweeted.
Cameron I hope you aren’t mad I recorded this, but no turning back now. Had to call in the GOAT to bring back another GOAT. @CameronDiaz and I are BACK IN ACTION – our new movie with @NetflixFilm. Production starting later this year!! ???????? pic.twitter.com/vyaGrUmbWb
— Jamie Foxx (@iamjamiefoxx) June 29, 2022
Foxx also brought in the frequently un-retired football legend, Tom Brady to encourage Diaz.
“I was talking to Jamie and he said you need a few tips on how to un-retire,” Brady explained. “I’m relatively successful at un-retiring.”
Diaz replied that the expert advice was “exactly what I needed.”
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, in order to pursue other opportunities. That included writing books and launching her organic wine brand Avaline. In 2015, she married musician Benji Madden, and the two welcomed their daughter, Raddix, four years later.
Last year, Diaz spoke to Kevin Hart on his Peacock series Hart to Heart about retreating from the spotlight in order to live a more independent life.
“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. “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.”
