Why Hilary Swank Took A Break From Acting

hilary swank in Logan Lucky

For a while, Hilary Swank had an epic run at the movies. In the late nineties and early 2000s, she earned an Academy Award for her role in Boys Don't Cry and later won a second Oscar for her role in Million Dollar Baby. However, as the 2000s wore on, the actress slowed down from acting a bit, only making a big comeback this past year with roles in Logan Lucky, 55 Steps and now the upcoming Getty-based TV series Trust. The actress recently opened up about her break from acting, noting on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that she spent the time taking care of her dad. She said:

He's great, thank you for asking. For those of you that don't know, my dad got a lung transplant. It's the hardest surgery a person can undergo and I thank all the people who make themselves a donor, it saves lives. Yeah, so they had given him a short time to live if he didn't get a lung transplant and thankfully he got one and he's alive and thriving and well.

As part of a lengthy segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she explained that she wasn't as prevalent on the big or the small screen for a while because her dad was going through one of the hardest journeys that humans can go through. He had a lung transplant, and survived it, so Hilary Swank spent a lot of time helping her dad recoup. She has appeared in a few projects recently, and will be starring in Trust, which airs on FX later this week.

Although there isn't a gigantic gap in her resume due to the timing of when her projects eventually came out, Hilary Swank also told Stephen Colbert that she took a whopping three years away from acting before ultimately getting back into the business. According to the actress,

I took, yeah, three years off to be with him and help him through that life journey.

She's not the first and she's unlikely to be the last actor to take some time off in Hollywood. Following the release of Red Sparrow, Jennifer Lawrence mentioned she was going to take a year off from acting to pursue other interests; in her case the next year should include working on Represent. Us. She'll also be working on some projects that are already in development, so her year off likely is more of a year off from filming. Other actresses, including Michelle Pfeiffer and Cameron Diaz, have also taking extended time off, for varying reasons.

Now, Hilary Swank seems to be back in fine form. Trust is going to be a limited series over at FX, and early reviews for the project are just starting to roll out. It will hit the schedule on March 25. Plus, CinemaBlend will obviously keep you updated as the actress signs on for more big screen projects. In addition, Swank has What They Had coming later in 2018. For a full look at 2018 movies, check out our guide.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.