It's 2019, and for the first time in what feels like forever, Renee Zellweger is a part of a television series. The actress has slowly been building up appearances over the years after an extended hiatus from Hollywood, and she's now back as the manipulative mogul and enigmatic Anne in What/If. When asked why she decided to jump into the world of streaming in a remarkably rare and notable television appearance, Zellweger said the following.
I want to play. I wanted to play. I love that this woman is so audacious and free and that she taps into her entitlement and her power and her sexuality to manipulate everybody and everything around her to get what she wants. That's not something I do every day. So it was fun.
As mentioned, it's the first television role Renee Zellweger has taken in some time (she had a guest role on King of the Hill in 2001), and the first lead role the actress has helmed since she reprised the role of Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones' Baby. The actress has shown she's more than capable of living a life outside of Hollywood, which makes it all the more likely she wouldn't be in What/If unless it was something she really liked.
Renee Zellweger first returned to acting in 2016, which snapped a six year absence from movies and television. Zellweger explained in the past she got burnt out on her own voice, although some have pointed to the Academy Award-winning actresses' break as a break from a string of underwhelming movies.
Whether it was the performance of projects or passion that drove Renee Zellweger's decision to step away is up for question, although there's no denying she's seemed to have found some passion in her latest performance in What/If. Zellweger got to step into a role that she doesn't often get to play, and judging by her comments to Fox News about it, it's certainly one that she'd like to play again.
For now, she has other roles coming up in 2019 and is set to appear on the big screen in the biopic of another acting icon. Judy puts Renee Zellweger in the shoes of actress Judy Garland, in a film that runs through the actresses' five weeks of sold out concerts in London. It was during this time Garland would overdose on barbiturates, and ultimately die in the home she shared with husband Mickey Deans.
Will What/If and Judy lead to a huge Hollywood comeback by Renee Zellweger? Audiences can stay up to date on the actresses big moves in movies and television by keeping with CinemaBlend, which is also a great source for other major headline news in the world of pop culture.
