Evangeline Lilly Is ‘Stepping Away’ From Acting and ‘Might Return to Hollywood One Day’: ‘I Am Happy’

Evangeline Lilly announced on Instagram that she has stepped away from Hollywood for the foreseeable future and “might return one day.” Lilly, best known for playing Kate Austen in ABC’s drama series “Lost,” re-shared a video recorded in 2006 in which she expressed her desire to be a “retired actress” by the next decade.

“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 and have a family,” Lilly said in the video. “I’d like to be writing and influencing people’s lives in humanitarian ways.”

In her caption to the video posted June 3, 2024, Lily writes: “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,” Lilly concluded.

Variety has reached out to Lilly’s representatives for additional comment.

Lilly starred as Kate Bishop on all six seasons of “Lost,” which ran from 2004 to 2010. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a drama series. She’s also well known for playing Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuting as the character in 2015’s “Ant-Man” and reprising her in 2018’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” and 2023’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Lilly also played Tauriel in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy, appearing in the latter two films “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”

Last year, Lilly revealed on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that she once turned down Hugh Jackman’s offer to join the “X-Men” franchise and Joss Whedon’s offer to play Wonder Woman. The “X-Men” offer came in during the making of 2011’s “Reel Steel,” which starred Jackman and Lilly. At that point, Lilly was fresh off wrapping up “Lost” and Jackman had four “X-Men” movies under his belt (plus a cameo in “X-Men: First Class”).

“[Hugh] was like, ‘Hey, so, the X-Men guys are asking me if I would approach you because they know that you won’t talk to anybody. They knew I was working with you and were interested to know if it would ever interest you to do an X-Men thing,’” Lilly said. “I was like, ‘No. It doesn’t interest me. I’m not interested.’”

Whedon had previously offered her the role of Wonder Woman in a movie that never got off the ground. The “Lost” actor met with Whedon but said, “I think my impression, coming away from it, was I had no desire and he could tell.”

“It didn’t appeal and there was nothing about the meeting that like, jazzed me or made me think like, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta do this.’ Nothing clicked. Nothing felt good,” Lilly continued. “I am way too authentic for my own good. I mean, it’s not good. If I am not impressed, you’ll know. And maybe you shouldn’t know sometimes.”

Check out Lilly’s post announcing her break from Hollywood below.