Evangeline Lilly said goodbye to Hollywood, a prophecy she predicted more than 20 years ago. In an Instagram post, the “Lost” actress admitted that she’s “filled with joy” over her decision to step away from acting. She posted footage from almost 20 years ago when she shared her “dreams under (what looks like) a full moon” and described what she wants her life to look like in 10 years.
The “Ant-Man” star captioned the clip, “I am so filled with joy and contentment today as I live out my vision. Praise God, I feel so grateful for my blessings. Stepping away from what seems like the obvious choice (wealth and fame) can feel scary at times, but stepping into your dharma replaces the fear with fulfillment. I might return to Hollywood one day, but for now, this is where I belong. A new season has arrived, and I AM READY… and I AM HAPPY.” In the video, Lilly stood on the beach and envisioned her future life. “Ten years from now, where would I like to be? I am terrified to admit this to the rest of the acting world, but ideally, 10 years from now, I’d like to be a retired actress,” she said.
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She added, “I would like to have a family, and I’d like to be writing and potentially, um, you know, maybe influencing people’s lives in a more humanitarian way, as almost everybody in the world now knows was my intention before I started the show.” Following Evangeline’s answer, a clipped interview between Maya Angelou and Mavis Nicholson on London’s “Mavis on Four” from 1987. Nicholson said, “Most of us get a kind of comfy idea of ourselves, and we stick with it – don’t we? You don’t. Why not? Well, I know that we’re all in process, and as nice as this seat is and this room is and how nice it is to be with you and have some relatives in the background, respectful and gracious directors and producers and floor managers around – this too will change,” Angelou responded. “This will change. I know it. This cannot remain the same.”
Lilly has previously thought about leaving Hollywood for good. Following her stint on “Lost,” director Peter Jackson had to lure her into playing Tauriel in “The Hobbit. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “I made a decision, and I decided to go do the film. I had a wonderful time making that movie. One of the highlights in my life was living in New Zealand for that year and being a part of that family. That helped open my eyes to the fact that, OK, this job can be a joy; it’s just a matter of how you approach it, and what you do with it, how much I put myself out there, and to a certain degree, how much I work.”