Who Talked Cameron Diaz Into Returning to Movies?

Cameron Diaz was reportedly enticed to go back to making movies by her husband, Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden. Diaz will star in the appropriately titled Back in Action with Jamie Foxx, who also starred with Diaz in the 2014 Annie remake and the 1999 sports drama Any Given Sunday. This will be Diaz’s first movie since Annie hit theaters.

Madden is “very excited” for Diaz, a family source told PEOPLE on July 1. “He encouraged her to unretire,” the insider said, adding that this is the “perfect” project for Diaz’s return. “She feels a bit rusty and nervous about it, but mostly excited,” the source said. “She is ready to tackle this movie project.”

Foxx shared the news himself on June 29 by sharing an audio recording of a phone call between himself and Diaz. The Bad Teacher star is unsure of how to share the news with her fans. So, Foxx brought in Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, whose retirement lasted 40 days before he returned to the team earlier this year. “I was talking to Jamie and he said you needed a few tips on how to un-retire,” Brady told Diaz. “I’m relatively successful at un-retiring.”

Not too much is known about Back in Action, but it will be filmed later this year and is set to be released on Netflix. Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) will direct, with a script by Brendan O’Brien (Neighbors), reports Variety. Foxx will executive produce with Datari Turner, O’Brien, and Mark McNair. Beau Bauman will produce for Good One Productions, with Gordon of Exhibit A.

Diaz and Madden married in 2015 and welcomed their daughter Raddix in December 2019 via surrogate. Although Diaz hasn’t appeared in a movie since 2014, it was not until March 2018 that she confirmed she was retired. However, in an April 2020 interview with her former makeup artist, Gucci Westman, Diaz left the door open for a return. “I’m not a person who says never about anything,” she explained. “I love being married. The best thing that’s ever happened to me is finding my husband, our partnership, his friendship.”

Diaz, 49, was one of the biggest stars of the late 1990s thanks to roles in My Best Friend’s Wedding, There’s Something About Mary, Any Given Sunday, and Being John Malkovich. After dramatic turns in Vanilla Sky and Gangs of New York, and the Charlie’s Angels movies, she focused almost exclusively on romantic comedies with mixed results. Before Annie was released, Diaz starred in the romantic comedies The Other Woman and Sex Tape, which were both box office hits that earned negative reviews. In 2019, her photo appeared in Elizabeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels reboot.

Although Diaz sounds excited to get back to work, she told InStyle in 2019 that she enjoyed her life outside Hollywood. “It’s fun to just not have anybody know what I’m up to,” Diaz said. “Because my time is all mine. I’m not selling any films, and because I’m not selling anything, I don’t have to give anybody anything. I’m not doing this anymore. I’m living my life.”