--- title: Michelle Pfeiffer Explains Why She Took a Hiatus description: Find out what Michelle Pfeiffer told Darren Aronofsky in 'Interview' about why she took a years-long hiatus from Hollywood. canonical: https://time.com/4717260/michelle-pfeiffer-hiatus/ author: Kate Dwyer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-29T21:08:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:18.173Z og:title: Michelle Pfeiffer Explains Why She Took Time Off From Hollywood og:description: 'I got so picky that I was unhirable' og:url: https://time.com/4717260/michelle-pfeiffer-hiatus/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fcfe0a8e65fc1e9/6988c07abc6cfcf44e3e0af1/michelle-pfeiffer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'La Cite Du Cinema' Launch - Red Carpet og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michelle Pfeiffer Explains Why She Took Time Off From Hollywood twitter:description: 'I got so picky that I was unhirable' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fcfe0a8e65fc1e9/6988c07abc6cfcf44e3e0af1/michelle-pfeiffer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Pfeiffer Explains Why She Took Time Off From Hollywood by [Kate Dwyer](https://time.com/author/kate-dwyer/) ## Kate Dwyer Mar 29, 2017 9:08 PM UTC  SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 21: Actress Michelle Pfeiffer attends 'La Cite Du Cinema' Launch on September 21, 2012 in Saint-Denis, France. (Photo by Francois G. Durand/Getty Images) SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 21: Actress Michelle Pfeiffer attends 'La Cite Du Cinema' Launch on September 21, 2012 in Saint-Denis, France. (Photo by Francois G. Durand/Getty Images)Francois G. Durand—Getty Images by [Kate Dwyer](https://time.com/author/kate-dwyer/) ## Kate Dwyer Mar 29, 2017 9:08 PM UTC In a new [cover story](http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/michelle-pfeiffer/#%5F) for _Interview,_ Michelle Pfeiffer spoke with director Darren Aronofsky about her career beginnings, [self-doubt](http://motto.time.com/4260364/imposter-syndrome-youre-not-crazy/) and why she took a break from acting. Unlike some of her peers who started acting as children, the three-time Oscar nominee waited until after high school to pursue the craft. Aside from a few workshops and a high school drama class, she didn’t have any formal training. “I didn’t come from Juilliard. I was just getting by and learning in front of the world,” she told Aronofsky, who directed her upcoming film, _Mother!_ “So I’ve always had this feeling that one day they’re going to find out that I’m really a fraud, that I really don’t know what I’m doing.” That anxiety has persisted: She revealed that one of her fears while working on Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s [_Murder on the Orient Express_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3402236/)_,_ due this year, was that she was “ruining” it. It’s a big year for Pfeiffer. Her HBO movie _The_ _Wizard of Lies_ _,_ in which she plays Bernie Madoff’s wife Ruth Madoff, will be released in May. [_Mother_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109784/?ref%5F=nm%5Fflmg%5Fprd%5F2)_!_ hits theaters in October, and _Murder on the Orient Express_ comes out in November. But 2017 also marks her return to the screen after a years-long hiatus — her last film came out in 2013\. She explained that the break was partially self-imposed, because she previously built her film schedule around her kids. “I was pretty careful about where I shot, how long I was away, whether or not it worked out with the kids’ schedule. And I got so picky that I was unhirable,” she said. Now, she’s an empty nester. “I’m a more balanced person honestly when I’m working,” she said. “I really want to work now, because I can.” Read the rest of Pfeiffer’s cover story at [_Interview_](http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/michelle-pfeiffer/#%5F)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4717260/michelle-pfeiffer-hiatus/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4717260/michelle-pfeiffer-hiatus/"},"headline":"Michelle Pfeiffer Explains Why She Took Time Off From Hollywood","datePublished":"2017-03-29T21:08:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:18.173Z","description":"'I got so picky that I was unhirable'","url":"https://time.com/4717260/michelle-pfeiffer-hiatus/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fcfe0a8e65fc1e9/6988c07abc6cfcf44e3e0af1/michelle-pfeiffer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Dwyer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kate-dwyer/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fcfe0a8e65fc1e9/6988c07abc6cfcf44e3e0af1/michelle-pfeiffer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"'La Cite Du Cinema' Launch - Red Carpet","caption":"'La Cite Du Cinema' Launch - Red Carpet","creditText":"Francois G. 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