Michelle Pfeiffer has said told NBC’s Today show that she has made her movie comeback just at the right time. The actress was promoting her new film Murder on the Orient Express when she said that the reason she hadn’t worked for such a long time was that she became unhirable.
‘You know, I wish I could really take credit for making this big sort of sacrifice, but it sort of just evolved. I guess my priorities maybe shifted. We moved out of Los Angeles. The older the kids got, it became more and more difficult to say ‘yes.’ I became pickier and pickier.’
She said that it was one of her children that flagged up the issue. They said ‘Mom, are you ever going to go back to work?’—which kind of hurt my feelings.’ She added that when they started applying for college she realised it was time to get back in the game. ‘It feels really good because I don’t feel that guilt anymore, [that] working moms feel—you can relate. No matter what profession you’re in there’s that tug. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not a working mom—if you’re out doing something with your friends, you sort of feel this guilt that you should always be with them.’
The actress admitted that she was intimidated by her latest role because of its many stars and also the project material. ‘I was a little intimidated and I hadn’t really seen any of the earlier adaptations. I actually am not that familiar with Agatha Christie; it’s not really a genre that I sort of gravitate toward. But I loved the script and I thought the character was challenging and not like anything I’ve ever done.’