Shailene Woodley almost quit acting before Big Little Lies

1 June 2018

Shailene Woodley almost quit acting before signing up for 'Big Little Lies'.

Shailene Woodley

The 26-year-old star instructed her agents not to send her any scripts 12 months before she was told about the US drama series - in which she plays Jane Chapman - after she "hit a wall" with acting.

She said: "There was a point in my life, right before Big Little Lies, where I had hit a wall with acting. I felt it was time to do something different.

"I called my agents and said, 'Please don't send me any more scripts; I need to explore other avenues.'

"They respected me and didn't send me anything for almost a year until 'Big Little Lies'. I didn't know what it was or who was involved, I just said, 'Thanks, I'm still not interested.' "

The former 'O.C.' star has starred as Jane since the show began last year, and now describes her role as the "best job in the world".

She said: "I read ['Big Little Lies'], fell in love with it, and Laura [Dern] called me and that was really the push.

"I don't know that I've ever worked with a group of women where competition didn't get in the way of sisterhood. Every single person was championing the other members.

"I have the best job in the world. I could cry talking about it. And it's fleeting, I remind myself of that every day. What I do can be taken away at any moment."

Shailene - who has also starred in movies 'The Descendants', 'The Fault in Our Stars', and 'The Divergent Series' - admits she fell out of love with acting because she didn't want to have to "look or speak a certain way".

Speaking to digital magazine PorterEdit, she added: "I can't half-a**e anything, so when it came to me having to look a certain way or speak a certain way for this image I was meant to create, it turned me off.

"We often see a pattern with young women in this industry: they lose a bit of weight after they become successful, their hair changes or their skin becomes clear.

"There's a lot that goes into the behind the scenes that, if that's not your thing, can itch at your soul."