Katherine Heigl returns to the small screen this fall starring in NBC’s new political thriller “State of Affairs.”
Speaking with Access Hollywood on Sunday, the actress explained why she took time off from the Hollywood life and nearly quit acting altogether.
“I was just kind of making choices that were certainly unbelievably fun – I had a really good time and I still love those movies, I’ll still watch them – I know that sounds vain, but every once in a while they’ll come on TV and I’m just grateful that I was there, that I got to be a part of it,” Katherine told Access at the Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills. “But then it starts to wear you down a little bit and it’s important that you’re making creative choices that support your creativity and challenge you as artist, because otherwise your audience gets bored by you!
“So I wanted to do something that I felt my audience would be excited about it and that I myself would be excited about,” she continued. “I think this is it.”
The new show (for which Katherine also serves as co-executive producer) features the former “Grey’s Anatomy” star as Charlie Tucker, a CIA analyst chosen to brief the President daily. It seems to be off to a good start – it’s reportedly the fall show most advertisers want to invest in.
“It’s exciting – I think that’s really wonderful they said that,” she said of the ad news. “I’m just trying to really stay focused on the work and do the best job I can possibly do and deliver what everyone is hoping for.”
Executive producing a series (along with her mom, Nancy Heigl, and “The Blacklist’s” Joe Carnahan) is a new experience for Katherine, but something she’s been hoping to tackle for a while.
“It’s been something I’ve always wanted to do and sort of dreamed of,” she said, adding that she now enjoys perks like sitting in on writing sessions. “I’m just grateful that they’re letting me into the writers’ room – I don’t have anything really to say, I just kind of wanted to witness it, see what happens in there. I’ve always wished I was a writer, and I’m not. I can’t write.
— Erin O’Sullivan, with additional reporting by Jolie Lash
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