Moretz explained that being a child actor is about “working as much as you can,” but she’s glad those days are behind her.
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Chloë Grace Moretz hit the ground running. The actress landed the role of Hit Girl in “Kick-Ass” at the age of 13 and starred in Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” soon after, establishing herself as one of the most successful child actors of her generation. Plenty of notable roles followed, including a “Kick-Ass” sequel and the lead role in Kimberley Peirce’s “Carrie” remake. But now, she’s ready to slow things down.
In a revealing interview with NME to promote her new Prime Video series “The Peripheral,” Moretz opened up about life as a former child star and how her approach to choosing roles has changed.
“When you’re a child actor, it’s really about making hay while the sun shines, working as much as you can,” Moretz said. “As I grew up, I realized that I wanted to peel back. I’d rather make zero movies in one year if it means I didn’t connect to anything. That’s literally what I did this year. 2016 was kind of a trial run to figuring that out.”
Moretz, who recently spoke about the ways that the pressures of the Hollywood spotlight turned her into a “recluse,” is now perfectly happy to select roles at her own pace.
“What’s fun about this job is that it should change with how you grow,” she said. “I read a ton of scripts and had a ton of meetings this year, but I just did not find a project that connected with me. And this is the first time, outside of the pandemic years, when I actually just effectively chose not to work. That was really scary and brought up a lot of insecurities in my body, but it’s important for me to sit back and trust how i’ve been planting the seeds, and now I’m finally able to reap what I’ve sown. And I need to just trust myself. I’ve been calling it my ‘fuck it’ era!”
While the actress is being more selective than ever, she has a couple of film projects on the horizon. She’s set to star alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the thriller “White Night” and remains attached to the long-gestating “Bonnie and Clyde” reimagining, “Love Is a Gun.”
“The Peripheral” Episodes 1 and 2 are now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes weekly.
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