Evangeline Lilly steps away from acting, feels content.
Evangeline Lilly, the beloved actress who captured hearts as Kate Austen in Lost and suited up as the Wasp in Marvel’s Ant-Man films, has revealed that she’s stepping away from Hollywood for the foreseeable future. In a heartfelt Instagram post on June 3, 2024, Lilly reflected on her career, her dreams, and the joy she’s found outside the spotlight — with the door left slightly open for a possible return one day.
Lilly’s announcement came alongside a touching throwback video recorded back in 2006, at the height of her Lost fame. In the clip, a much younger Lilly, then in her late 20s, shared an aspiration that seemed almost daring at the time: “Ten years from now, where would I like to be? I am terrified to admit this to the rest of the acting world but ideally 10 years from now I’d like to be a retired actress and have a family. I’d like to be writing and influencing people’s lives in humanitarian ways.”
Eighteen years later, that vision has largely become her reality. In her caption to the post, Lilly wrote:
In a statement to Variety, Lilly clarified that this shift has actually been in motion for a while: “I have actually been on a hiatus from acting for the past three years already (since finishing work on Quantumania).
It’s not a sudden change for the Canadian star, whose relationship with fame has always been measured and self-aware. While she found enormous success with Lost from 2004 to 2010 — even earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series — Lilly has never been shy about her ambivalence toward the Hollywood machine. After Lost, she stepped back for several years before returning to major franchises, first as the elf warrior Tauriel in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, and later as Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Her Marvel tenure began with Ant-Man (2015) and continued with Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). But even amid blockbuster success, Lilly has often hinted that her priorities lie elsewhere. In past interviews, she’s spoken openly about how not every project excites her — and how she’s never been one to hide her feelings when that’s the case.
“Nothing clicked. Nothing felt good. I mean, it’s not good. If I am not impressed, you’ll know. And maybe you shouldn’t know sometimes.”
Now, Lilly is leaning fully into that authenticity. Rather than chasing the next big role, she’s dedicating her time to humanitarian work and writing — pursuits that, in her own words, bring her far more peace and purpose than Hollywood ever could.
Her announcement has been met with a mix of admiration, nostalgia, and support from fans who have followed her journey from Lost’s mysterious island to the Marvel multiverse. While many will miss seeing her on screen, her message is a reminder that stepping away from something — even something glamorous and lucrative — can sometimes be the truest act of self-fulfillment.
And if she ever decides to step back in, Hollywood will surely be ready to welcome her with open arms.
For now, though, Evangeline Lilly seems perfectly at home in this new chapter of her life — and she’s happy, which might just be the best role she’s ever played.