Cameron Diaz is coming out of retirement for Back In Action with Jamie Foxx. Fans can watch the flick this weekend with a Netflix subscription, but the actress’ return to the big (small) screen was not always set in stone. She really dove into rebranding her life after marrying Benji Madden, she started a wine brand called Avaline with a delightful rosé, and she became a mom of two. That seemed to be her next step… until Foxx reeled her back into the industry.
Netflix spoke with Diaz ahead of the release of Back in Action and she opened up about what her life looked like during the 10 years she was out of the business. She said she was just trying to “keep it going” like most moms out there, and her focus was on selling a lot of Avaline wine (which she succeeded at). She spoke about her choices in what she thought would be her Hollywood exit.
I was not keeping up with any kind of training. I did nothing public. I said no to everything, other than for my wine. I started a wine company called Avaline. That was what I was putting most of my focus on, if I was doing anything other than just sort of being a mom and living my day-to-day.
But then something changed, and as it turns out that something is a very persuasive Jamie Foxx. She said the actor called her up and told her all about the action movie premise. She said it sounded like a person and a movie she could “have a ball with,” after previously sharing her return to Hollywood was something she felt she "had to do."
I’m going to tell you why I decided to make Back in Action as my first film in 10 years. I didn’t think I was gonna make another movie. I was perfectly happy, you know, just living my life. Doing other things, you know? Like day in and day out, not movies. And then I get a phone call from Jamie Foxx, and how do you say ‘no’ to Jamie Foxx? … If there’s anyone I’m going to go back and spend months on end, on set, having a ball, laughing with, it would be Jamie.
The new 2025 movie release has been a long time coming. I actually would have thought Back in Action would have hit the Netflix schedule sooner, but filming was interrupted while Foxx dealt with his health crisis and hospitalization in 2023. Feud rumors subsequently swirled about the two stars, but she’s been nothing but cool about working with Foxx through the elongated period the movie was coming together. Which I would assume would have been a bit tough given it was her first time on a set in years.
Listen, plenty of stars have said they would retire before coming back to make another movie. Famously among them was Jim Carrey, who admitted after appearing in Sonic 3 that he needed the money.
What I’d love to see from Diaz is sort of a hybrid. Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t really act anymore, but she shows up onscreen when the mood suits her, most recently voicing a character in American Horror Stories (which her husband Brad Falchuk partially created). She’s also set to star in an upcoming A24 movie with Timothée Chalamet playing a table tennis champion. I’d love to see Diaz on this sort of trajectory too, one where she could mostly focus on making wine – absolutely no hate on that front at all – but where she could still pick up a high-profile project every year or two.
In the meantime, Back in Action is an at-home flick and I fully plan to crack open a bottle of Avaline Rosé while watching it this weekend. If the girl’s gonna get back into acting I feel like I need to fully support it.
