Cameron Diaz's retirement is officially over as Hollywood star joins Netflix comedy with Jamie Foxx

Cameron Diaz has officially ended her Hollywood retirement, joining Jamie Foxx for an upcoming Netflix film after an eight-year-long hiatus from the entertainment industry. 

The 49-year-old will return to the big screen with a leading role in Back in Action, an action-comedy scheduled to drop on the popular US streaming platform in 2023. Jamie Foxx himself confirmed the exciting news on Wednesday, taking to his Twitter to share a recorded phone call with Cameron about the project. 

In the short audio clip, the There's Something About Mary star can be heard sharing her conflicted feelings about returning to acting after such a long break. 

"I'm so anxious right now," Cameron admits. "I'm like, pacing the room." 

The film, which is directed by Horrible Bosses' Seth Gordon, will see the 2000s blockbuster titan take on her acting role since starring as Hannigan in the 2014 adaptation of Annie. 

"I feel excited, but I don't know how to do this, ya know," she continues. The update will likely come as a surprise to the public, especially considering the star's statements about acting following her departure from the industry. Cameron Diaz even revealed she feels 'whole' after retiring last summer, confessing that the job had taken an inordinate amount of her time and energy from her. 

At this point of the phone call, Jamie invites Tom Brady onto the line - in the hope he'll be able to pull Cameron out of her funk with some words of wisdom. The NFL star famously announced his own retirement from American football in February, only to return to the sport 40 days later after receiving pressure from his agency. 

"I was talking to Jamie and he said you need some tips on how to retire," Tom said. "I’m relatively successful at un-retiring!" 

Cameron seemed to appreciate the offer of advice, replying, "Honestly...exactly what I needed." 

Why did Cameron Diaz retire from acting? 

Cameron Diaz retired from acting in 2014, bringing an 'end' to her impressive two-decade-long career in Hollywood. 

While she didn't officially announce her retirement until 2018, her absence at the box office didn't go unnoticed in the years following her last role and it soon became clear that she had no plans to return to the craft anytime soon. In 2015, she married her boyfriend of one year, Benji Madden, and by 2019, the couple had welcomed their first child via surrogate. 

Last summer, Cameron revealed the real reason behind her retirement - it simply took up too much time. 

Speaking on Kevin Hart's podcast in July 2021, Hart to Heart, the Charlies' Angels star spoke candidly about the pressure her intensive job had on her wellbeing. 

"When you do something at a really high level for a long period of time...when you're the person who's the talent...all parts of you that isn't that has to sort of be handed off to other people," she explained. 

"For my personal, spiritual self, I was realizing that that one part of me that functioned at a high level wasn't enough."