After working nonstop in Hollywood since the age of 15, Mia Wasikowska is revealing why she chose to step back from the spotlight.
The "Alice in Wonderland" actor, who made her mark in films like "The Kids are Alright," "Map to the Stars" and "Blackbird," spoke with IndieWire about her decision to move back to Australia.
"I’m pretty content," she said. "If I can have the best of both worlds, which is dip in and out of it occasionally, I’d be really happy, but I wouldn’t ever be in that place where I was just on a treadmill. I want to do more things in life other than be in a trailer."
Wasikowska explained that there are "lots of great things" about Hollywood, but that "it didn't suit me as a person."
"You can really lose perspective because you’re treated quite strangely," she added. "When that’s your only reality, it’s quite strange."
Speaking from her home in Sydney, Australia, Wasikowska told the online publication that a number of back-to-back projects led her to question if life in the industry was leading to burnout, noting the mistreatment of rising female artists.
“I didn’t entirely like the lifestyle of going back to back to back. I felt really disconnected from any greater community,” she said. “I was doing it since I had been 17 — well, more like 15 — but really working a lot from 17. I spent 10 to 15 years completely like, new city, new country every three months, and it’s like starting school again every few months."
The 33-year-old explained that it's "really hard" to not have a home base at a young age and be in a constant state of movement. She noted that the Hollywood lifestyle might work for some who feel the "payoff is good," but it didn't work for her.
In a December 2022 interview, Wasikowska told The Sydney Morning Herald that "playing the game" and being pressured to be a certain way to achieve an acting role "doesn't feel worth it."
"At a certain point, you go, ‘who is this for? Is this for me, or is this for the company releasing the film?’ All the weird things that you have to do sort of seem silly," she said.
Since stepping away, Wasikowska said she's been focused on staying grounded.
"I wanted to establish that for myself on a personal level and have more of a sense of somewhere I belong that’s not just on a film set that ends every few weeks," she told IndieWire.
She didn't fully give up on film, though. After moving back to Australia in the late 2010s, the actor continued to work on a variety of indie projects. Her latest movie, "Blueback," where Wasikowska plays an oceanographer trying to save a rare fish from poachers, is in theaters now.
