Evangeline Lilly announces pause in acting career

Evangeline Lilly has revealed that she plans to “step away” from her acting career for the “foreseeable future”.

Lilly, 44, starred as Hope van Dyne, aka The Wasp, in both instalments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man films, and is also known for her roles in Lost, The Hurt Locker and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy.

But now, in a post on her Instagram account, she has signalled her intention to leave Hollywood behind.

Alongside footage of her speaking in 2006 about her dream of one day being a “retired actress”, Lilly wrote: “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 fulfilment. I might return to Hollywood one day, but, for now, this is where I belong.”

Lilly went on to clarify that she now intends to spend time focusing on her family and on her humanitarian work.

“A new season has arrived, and I AM READY…and I AM HAPPY,” she concluded.

Last year, the actress said that she finds her own work in the early seasons of Lost hard to watch. She played Kate Austen in the J.J. Abrams series, which ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2010.

“We would have Lost parties where the cast would get together to watch the show, and when it would be a Kate-centric episode, I would want to curl in a hole and die because I knew I was bad,” she said. “And I still to this day will stand by the fact that I can watch the first couple seasons and I cringe because I’m not very good.”