And why What Happens Later marks her comeback to romantic comedies.
Even though Meg Ryan’s return to the big screen has been much anticipated since it was originally revealed back in September, the queen of romantic comedies is now at last speaking out about the reasons for her decision to take such a long break from the industry.
In a recent interview with People, the actress disclosed that the reason for her first decision to leave the profession in 2015 was her need to completely explore other aspects of her life, such as becoming a mother to her two children, Jack and Daisy.
“I took a giant break because I felt like there’s just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop,” she shared. “It’s nice to think of it as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me.”
Ryan is getting ready to return to her origins by appearing alongside David Duchovny in the upcoming romantic comedy, What Happens Later. Ryan’s most recent production was her directorial debut, Ithaca. The movie Shooting Star, which is based on Steven Dietz’s play of the same name, aspires to evoke the “cheeky magic of Ryan’s rom-coms of the ’90s.”
“It came to me during lockdown,” Ryan mentioned learning about the initiative. “The essence of it is these two people who are stuck together. I just love that idea that we’re held in a space, even if it feels conflicted, maybe for reasons that heal them.”
On November 3, What Happens Later opens in theaters.
