Anna Faris' Hiatus From Acting Was Such A Relief She Contemplated Retiring

Anna Faris is getting candid about the time she contemplated retiring from acting.

The “Scary Movie” actress appears in this week’s issue of PEOPLE magazine to promote her new film, “The Estate.”

In addition to promoting the new movie, Faris also opened up about the time she took a hiatus from acting.

Her career time-out came after she left the CBS sitcom, “Mom,” in 2020 right before its eighth and final season would go into production.

She played recovering alcoholic Christy Plunkett on the TV series for seven seasons starting in 2013.

When Faris made the decision to leave “Mom” she said in a statement, “The past seven years on Mom have been some of the most fulfilling and rewarding of my career. I'm so thankful to Chuck, the writers, and my amazing castmates for creating a truly wonderful work experience. While my journey as Christy has come to an end, allowing me to pursue new opportunities, I'll be watching next season and rooting for my TV family."

Faris said of her departure, “it felt like the first time that I didn't have my foot on the gas.”

At the time, Faris was “feeling competitive, feeling comparative.”

"On Mom, which was really rewarding in a very different way, everything is very precise. Sitcoms are incredibly surgical, and there's not room for that kind of play. Everything is very choreographed. The dialogue is incredibly precise,” she noted.

The actress knew it was necessary to take a step back, and it ended up being such a relief to Faris that she considered retiring.

"I was like, 'Do I have enough money to retire?'" she admitted.

Well, we know now that she decided against retiring.

"I really started to think about where I wanted to go in terms of career," she explained. "And I definitely was enjoying all that free time."

Faris took her time away from the silver screen to hang with her son Jack (10), whom she shares with her ex-husband, Chris Pratt, and her new husband, Michael Barrett, and his two children from a previous marriage.

She made the leap back to acting earlier this year with “The Estate.”

The movie is an adult comedy about two sisters (Faris and Toni Collette) competing with their cousins (played by David Duchovny and Rosemarie DeWitt) to worm their way into the will of their mean, terminally ill aunt (played by Kathleen Turner).

Her character in the film is a far departure from her previous likeable, bubbly blonde roles.

"There's such liberation in getting to play kind of atrocious people," Faris admitted. "The emphasis for so much of my career felt like the likability factor: 'Is she likable?' That always felt like the mantra. So, I had a blast playing Savanna. It nurtured something in me."

She doted on her co-star, Collette, telling PEOPLE, "It was such a dream to work with Toni, and a lifelong goal. So, when the script came in and Toni was attached, I was like, how can I be a part of this? How can I be a part of this?"

Faris explained filming “The Estate” “felt just completely rejuvenating. It made me really excited, and I hadn't felt that way in a while."