Michelle Pfeiffer shut down speculation about her retirement during a Thursday appearance on “The Tonight Show,” calling recent headlines about her stepping away from acting flatly wrong.
Host Jimmy Fallon held up a headline reading “Michelle Pfeiffer hints at Hollywood retirement” and asked the three-time Oscar nominee to respond. “No! I mean, it’s the most ridiculous thing,” she said. “They’re always saying that I’m retiring. I never said — no. Where does it say ‘I’m retiring?’ No! No, all I said was I really love working with an ensemble cast.”
The rumors traced back to comments Pfeiffer made earlier this month during a panel discussion, where she said she no longer wanted to headline films and preferred acting alongside a full cast of collaborators. She told Fallon she recognized the trouble the moment the words left her mouth, explaining that a comment about never wanting to star in another movie again got lifted out of context. She insisted the opposite is true. “And of course I want to star in another movie!” she said.
Pfeiffer, 68, pointed to her recent run of ensemble projects as the real source of her enthusiasm rather than any plan to exit the industry. She has appeared back to back in the holiday film “Oh. What. Fun.,” the Taylor Sheridan drama “The Madison” and Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” the latter created by her husband, writer and producer David E. Kelley. Both “The Madison” and “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” are gearing up for new seasons. Pfeiffer called the experience of living with a single character across an extended run rewarding, saying it lets her dig deeper into a role than a standalone film typically allows.
Fallon pressed further, reminding Pfeiffer that she had once said during an earlier visit to the show that she would never work with her husband professionally. Pfeiffer laughed off the apparent contradiction, saying she simply fell in love with the source material for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” and couldn’t pass up the chance to adapt it with him.
