Renee Zellwegger admits things got ‘dark and sad’ before she took six years off from Hollywood

Renee Zellwegger has admitted that feeling ‘dark and sad’ prompted her to take some time off from Hollywood.

The actress, 50, went on a six-year hiatus from her career as a movie star, after feeling like she was ‘watching myself and rolling my eyes’.

Speaking to October’s edition of Red Magazine, the What/If actress said: ‘I got some bad advice. I made some pretty bad choices… It was pretty dark. And sad.

‘But I don’t look at it as wasted life, because I learned a lot from it – and that’s what I needed, I guess. I learned a lot about perspective. To recognise different patterns of my behaviour. To understand different consequences.

‘And so I’m just grateful. Grateful to have learned and to do something different.’ 

She went on: ‘I was away for a while and, in all honesty, it was because I wasn’t taking care of myself. I looked like I wasn’t taking care of myself. I felt like I wasn’t taking care of myself. And I was so bored with myself.

‘It had got to the point where I felt like I was sitting beside myself when I was filming, watching myself and rolling my eyes. And going, “Oh, shut up!” ‘And, “Oh, there you are… doing that thing you do again.”

Laid bare: The actress, 50, went on a six-year hiatus from her career as a movie star, after feeling like she was ‘watching myself and rolling my eyes’

She went on: ‘I was away for a while and, in all honesty, it was because I wasn’t taking care of myself. I looked like I wasn’t taking care of myself. I felt like I wasn’t taking care of myself. And I was so bored with myself’

‘And so I decided to go away. Become more interesting! Do something else.’

Renee was asked about her relationship with London – and the future of the Bridget Jones franchise.

‘Every time I come back [to London] it feels like homecoming. And it’s easy, I mean, the geese on The Serpentine are the only thing I worry about – they can stand their ground.

‘But using the Tube is really easy. It’s all really easy, I think, if you just look normal. [I wear] gym gear. I look like I’m going to the gym most of the time, and nobody even looks in my direction.’

On channeling her inner Bridget, she added: ‘I don’t think Bridget ever really leaves. She’s always there, particularly if I have a live television event or red carpet. And I love her – she makes me laugh. I mean, she’s always a delight’

On the potential of a Bridget Jones 4, she said: ‘I mean, if that’s what Helen [Fielding, the author] wants to do, it sounds fun’

On channeling her inner Bridget, she added: ‘I don’t think Bridget ever really leaves. She’s always there, particularly if I have a live television event or red carpet. And I love her – she makes me laugh. I mean, she’s always a delight.’ 

Coming soon: The full interview appears in the October issue of Red, on sale 29th August

On the potential of a Bridget Jones 4, she said: ‘I mean, if that’s what Helen [Fielding, the author] wants to do, it sounds fun.’ 

As her star turn playing iconic star Judy Garland in new biopic Judy is released next month, Renee spoke to the publication about playing the iconic role.

‘It’s sort of been an ongoing research project for me. There was a lot I didn’t know about Judy’s journey, so aside from the rudimentary training – looking at the way she moved, tackling the songs – there was a lot to read. A lot of discovery.

‘I didn’t know that they were giving her drugs by the time she was pre-pubescent. That every day there were pills: pills to keep her weight down; pills to temper her development; pills to wake her up; pills to go to sleep.

‘I didn’t know that it was those drugs that probably led to her addiction. And so that was eye-opening.’ 

The full interview appears in the October issue of Red, on sale 29th August.