Meg Ryan explained her decision to retire from Hollywood after starring in Harry and Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.
After cementing her status as a leading lady and well-known actress, the 61-year-old actress revealed why she took a break from her career ahead of the release of her first romantic comedy, What Happens Later, in nearly 15 years.
“I took a huge break because I felt like there were just so many other aspects of my experience as a human being that I wanted to develop,” the mother of two told People.
She continued, “It’s nice to look at it as a job and not a lifestyle. And that’s a great way for me to navigate it.”
She is back! Meg Ryan examines her decision to retire from Hollywood after starring in Harry and Sally and Sleepless in Seattle; seen in 2019
In 2015, she made her directorial debut with the drama Ithaca, based on the 1943 novel The Human Comedy by William Saroyan.
For her latest project “What Happens Later” she directed, wrote and starred alongside David Duchovny.
“It came to mind during lockdown,” she gushed. “The essence of it is these two people holding together. “I just love the idea of us being held in the same space, even if it feels contradictory, maybe for reasons that are healing.”
In a recent conversation with Carol Burnett for Interview magazine, Ryan opened the curtain on the process of making her new film.
“The easiest part was actually playing in it,” she said. “I want to direct again just so I can sit in the chair because I’m sure I missed a lot of things.”
The actor also noted, “I hadn’t played a role in a long time, but it was fun with David.”
She added: “A lot of it was done in two takes. “I’m proud of that. I set everything up in advance so that when David and I got there, we were just trying to tell the truth.”
Meg explained that the process of cobbling together the film was “quite deliberate” – and was done on a budget of $3 million.
A big break: After cementing her status as a leading lady and well-known actress, the 61-year-old actress revealed why she took a break from her career ahead of the release of her first romantic comedy in nearly 15 years, “What Happens Later.” seen in their 1998 film You’ve Got Mail)
“We had to do it really quickly.” “A lot of these extras weren’t even ours, they were real people,” Meg revealed. “We went back to the post office and made the same palette for everyone.” “Thank God you can do a lot digitally now.”
Meg rose to fame in the 1980s when she played the female love interest in hit films such as the original Top Gun and Met Harry Met Sally.
Over the years she has become inextricably identified with romantic comedies, with her best-known films including Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.
However, her girl-next-door image took a hit in 2000 when news of her affair with her Proof Of Life co-star Russell Crowe broke.
“I took a huge break because I felt like there were so many other aspects of my experience as a human being that I wanted to develop,” the mother of two told People. Seen in her hit film Serious Moonlight in 2009
Over the years she has become inextricably identified with romantic comedies, with one of her best-known films being Sleepless in Seattle (seen above in 1993).
Memorable: Ryan played Sally Albright in the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally (pictured above).
At the time, Meg was still married to Dennis Quaid, whom she later accused of being unfaithful to her for a “long time” during their relationship.
What Happens Later is the first romantic comedy Meg has starred in in over a decade. Her previous entry into the genre was the 2009 film Serious Moonlight.
In a newly released trailer for “What Happens Now,” Meg’s character Wilhelmina and David’s character William meet by chance at an airport.
It turns out the two are exes whose romance ended a few decades ago – but there’s still undeniable chemistry between them.
When both flights are delayed, they sit together waiting at the airport with nothing to do but take care of the unfinished business of their past.