The former ‘Lost’ star reflects on leaving Hollywood, her desire for a quieter life and her latest role in the animated film ‘Legend of Destruction’

NEED TO KNOW

• Evangeline Lilly said she officially retired from acting in 2020, years before publicly announcing her decision
• The Lost and Ant-Man star revealed she has “always hated being famous” and wants to focus on storytelling and humanitarian work
• Lilly voices Queen Bernice in Legend of Destruction, an animated historical film told through still paintings and actors’ performances, streaming now on multiple platforms

Evangeline Lilly is reflecting on life outside Hollywood, revealing why she walked away from acting despite her success on screen.

“I’d much prefer a quieter position. I’ve always hated being famous,” Lilly, 47, said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network published on Monday, Oct. 19. “I never made any secrets about that. I’ve always said being famous is the cost of the wealth that you can get as an actor. Like that’s what you pay for — the wealth.”

The actress, best known for playing Kate Austen on Lost and Hope van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, in Marvel’s Ant-Man films, told the outlet she officially retired from acting in 2020, though she did not publicly share the news until 2024.

“It’s been six years now,” Lilly said, reflecting on her decision. She had already been retired for four years when she shared a retrospective video on Instagram in June 2024, CBN noted.

In 2020, Lilly also made headlines when she posted about going about “#businessasusual” during the pandemic, while dropping her kids off at gymnastics camp. “They all washed their hands before going in. They are playing and laughing,” she wrote before using the hashtag.

Lilly later apologized for “the insensitivity” she “showed,” and, two years later, apologized again after she attended an anti-vaccine mandate and wrote on Instagram that no one should be “forced to inject their body with anything, against their will.”

Leaving behind a successful career was not always easy, Lilly said, adding that the recognition that comes with being successful can make it difficult to walk away, even when a different path feels right.

“When you’re successful at something, it feels really good when the world says, ‘We love you! You’re amazing!’ Like, this is a wonderful feeling,” she said. “How do you walk away from that? And I’ve had moments of … gripping fear of like, ‘What am I doing?’ But, ultimately, the decision was one that was made in great conviction.”

Lilly had expressed a desire to leave acting years before making her retirement public. In a video captured in 2006, which she shared while announcing her retirement in June 2024, the actress spoke about her hopes for the future, including starting a family and stepping away from Hollywood.

“I am terrified to admit this to the rest of the acting world but ideally, 10 years from now, I’d like to be a retired actress, and I would like to have a family,” she said in the video.

Lilly added that she might return to acting one day but was happy with the direction her life had taken.

Before pursuing acting, Lilly studied political science and international relations and considered becoming a missionary, humanitarian or diplomat, she told CBN. Her desire to make a difference in the world, she explained, has remained important to her.

“I wanted to make the world a better place,” she said. “And there are many people who will claim that actors are making the world a better place, that they’ve had an impact on their lives. But…I’ve always wanted a much more hands-on impact. I’ve done 22 years of hands-on humanitarian work in Rwanda.”

Although Lilly said she loves storytelling, she explained that she’d “like to tell stories of my own instead of being in front of the camera.”

Lilly also spoke about the role her faith plays in her outlook on life, describing it as a “total trust and surrender that God has a plan for my life,” according to CBN.

Although she has largely stepped away from acting, Lilly has taken on a voice role in 2021’s Legend of Destruction, an animated film about the Jewish revolt against Rome and the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, CBN reported. Lilly voices Queen Bernice in the film’s English-language version, which tells its story through still paintings accompanied by actors’ performances.

“The film was originally made in Hebrew, and so I actually was able to see the fully completed piece before I came on board for the English version,” Lilly said of her decision to take on the role. “I didn’t understand what I was looking at. I didn’t understand what I was being invited into, but I watched the film, and within the first…three to four seconds of the film, I felt like I was just completely immersed in a way that most films don’t do for me anymore.”

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In a separate health update earlier this year, Lilly revealed that brain scans showed decreased function in almost every area of her brain following a traumatic brain injury she sustained in May 2025. The actress previously said she fainted at a beach and fell face-first into a boulder.

“So I do have brain damage from the TBI,” Lilly said in a video posted on Jan. 2, adding that she was working with doctors to better understand the results and address the effects of the injury.

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