Anna Faris Says She Felt Her Acting Career Was “Being Put Out to Pasture”

Anna Faris is opening up about a difficult period in her life when she questioned her career, her ambition and even whether she was ready to retire from acting.

During an Aug. 20 episode of the Dear Chelsea podcast, Faris said she felt as though her career was “being put out to pasture” after starring in seven seasons of the CBS sitcom Mom. She left the series in 2020, one season before it ended in 2021.

“I didn’t know what my ambition [was],” Faris said. “I didn’t know where I stood, what opportunity there was.”

As she approached her late 40s, the actress said she became increasingly concerned about what she saw as a lack of ambition. Looking back, she believes she was dealing with mental health struggles, including what she described as “premenopausal depression.”

“I was, in hindsight, I think pretty depressed,” said Faris, who turns 50 in November.

She said she had begun feeling disconnected from Los Angeles and her career and even wondered whether she had enough money to retire. Those feelings came shortly before she lost her home in the 2025 Pacific Palisades fires.

Faris described the loss as something that continued to affect her throughout the day, comparing the memories to “a million different winces.”

Despite the personal turmoil, Faris had already landed a role in the upcoming film Spa Weekend when the fire destroyed her home. Having a job to return to provided some comfort, although she said it did not immediately feel like the beginning of a major career comeback.

“It felt like a great gig but ... I’m always hedging my bets,” she explained.

Still, working on the movie turned out to be valuable for Faris. She said the experience was “so good” for her during a difficult time, even though she was still thinking about acting as part of a “slow retirement idea.”

That outlook changed when Marlon Wayans called with major news: the Scary Movie franchise was coming back.

The franchise played a major role in launching Faris’ career, and returning to it gave her a new sense of possibility. She described making the new Scary Movie as feeling like a “bow tie” on her life.

“Suddenly I had this rush of like, what if my destiny hasn’t quite forged itself in slow aging actress retirement?” Faris recalled.

She said the past year has been “very wonderful and heady” and has helped her regain confidence in what she can offer as an actress.

“I feel more confident in what I have to offer, which might not be, I don’t know, for a wide audience,” she said. “But I feel more solid in my own ability. I wish I had realized that earlier.”

For Faris, the experience appears to have shifted the way she views aging and her career. Rather than seeing herself as approaching the end of her time in Hollywood, she is now entering a period where she feels more secure in her abilities and more open to what could come next.