TV Cameron Diaz tells Kevin Hart 'I feel whole' after stepping away from acting The actress appeared on Hart's Peacock talk show and reflected on her retirement. By Andrea Towers Andrea Towers Andrea Towers is a former assistant editor at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2016. EW's editorial guidelines Published on August 13, 2021 11:29AM EDT During an appearance on Kevin Hart's Peacock talk show Hart To Heart, Cameron Diaz reflected on her decision to step away from acting, telling the comedian "I feel whole." "I think you probably can relate to this," Diaz said, explaining how she came to the conclusion to re-evaluate her career. "When you do something at a really high level for a really long period of time, there's a lot that — when you're the person who's sort of delivering on this one thing. You're the person on the screen, you're the person who's 'the talent' — everything around you, all parts of you that isn't that, has to be handed off to other people." Cameron Diaz on Kevin Hart's talk show. Peacock In 2018, Diaz participated in EW's Sweetest Thing reunion with Christina Applegate and Selma Blair where she off-handedly mentioned she was "actually retired" from acting. During Hart's interview, she told him she was 40 when she had her "lightbulb" moment about where acting fell in her life. "It's fun to do, I love it, I love acting," Diaz said, adding, "I feel like I was really lucky because I had people I worked with for 20 years who I know they have my best interest but for me, I just really wanted to make my life manageable by me. My routine in a day is literally what I can manage to do by myself." Diaz explained that she ultimately realized there were certain parts of her life that she "wasn't touching and wasn't managing," and told Hart that stepping away allowed her to do things she wanted to do but hadn't had a chance to give her energy to — such as meeting her husband Benji Madden and starting a family. (Diaz and Madden welcomed a daughter, Maddix, in 2019.) Last year, Diaz spoke with her close friend and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow walking away felt "like peace. A peace in my soul because I was finally taking care of myself." Watch the video below. Related content: Charlie's Angels reunite as Lucy Liu is honored with a star on the Walk of Fame Cameron Diaz through the years: From The Mask to EW's My Best Friend's Wedding reunion Cameron Diaz 'not looking to' make movies again as she focuses on motherhood