Image Credit: Everett CollectionReading about Amanda Bynes’ decision to “retire” at age 24 because she no longer loves acting made me sad — even if a late-night declaration on Twitter does seem somewhat reversible. It was two years ago that we reported Bynes was searching for a new agency and suggested she return to series TV and find a smart role that didn’t require a pratfall. By spring 2009, she had a comedy pilot, Canned, at ABC (which ended up nowhere). Since then, she’s been best known for that Twitter account, where she talks cryptically (and not so cryptically) about her feelings on love, and posing for Maxim‘s February 2010 cover, which was supposed to prove she’s all grown up and ready for sexy films. The movie she has waiting in release? This September’s Easy A, in which she plays a religious Mean Girl hoping to save Emma Stone’s soul and get her expelled because she’s (pretending to be) promiscuous. Easy A actually looks good, but it’s clear Bynes’ career hasn’t gone according to plan. “I’ve never written the movies & tv shows I’ve been apart of I’ve only acted like the characters the producers or directors wanted me to play,” she wrote on Twitter, an hour before her retirement tweet. Maybe that’s the direction she’s headed. I have no idea if she can write, but it seems like she owes it to herself to try. If you’re not getting offered the kind of role you want, create it.
I also hope Bynes doesn’t regret her acting career. At least not She’s the Man (totally enjoyable and fearless) and What a Girl Wants (starring opposite Colin Firth, in a movie that sucks some of us in every time it’s on cable — not bad).
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I think she has an incredible comedy timing and it’s sad that she is done with movies. I really like her in Hairspray, she is the man and What a Gril wants.
Never saw her….but, let’s face it…she’ll be back. She’ll go to college get a degree and will appear again.
Yes, her comic timing is wonderful. It’s always a treat to watch her.
I agree!
Are you kidding? At best she is stiff and wooden.
She was hilarious in Hairspray – milked every line for what it was worth.
Actually, she was awful – her stiff, amateurish performance stood out like a sore thumb. She was the one thing that really ruined the movie.
In your opinion…
i agree loved her in Hairspray…did not know she could sing that well!
She’s the man is like one of my all time fav movies. I watch it all the time. Its pretty sad lol. I just love it.
What I Like About You is always on Teen Nick. I always thought she was funny.
Perhaps it wasn’t her decision to go into acting and now that she’s a grown up, she’s taking charge of her own life.
I suspect that if her career was going well, with lots of offers, she wouldn’t be “retiring.”
I suspect if she was willing to show her ass and get drunk in clubs, like her peers, she would be handed roles to choose from.
She decides to keep her clothes on and liquor at bay and she is not cool enough. Very sad.
I am going to miss her.
I hope she just takes a break and then comes back. She’s very talented and was looking forward to seeing her as a leading actress as a ‘grown up’.
She had a lot of potential. I loved “She’s the Man” and “What a Girl Wants”! Can’t wait to see “Easy A”.
She’s actually really likeable, I would have liked to see her do well in acting. Soooo much better than the Kristen Stewarts and Miley Cyruses of the industry. Hopefully she’ll find something good and un-retire
Amen to that! AND she is a wholesome roll model for young girls, unlike those mentioned above!
Wholesome girls pose for Maxim? What, exactly, is your definition of wholesome? Pretty lax, I’d say.
Not fair, AD, at least she waited till she was in her mid-20′s, not sexing it up at 17 while still know as Hannah Montana.
Best wishes for whatever she finds to make herself happy.
Oh man, I really like her, such an enjoyable actress. What a Girl Wants is still my go to feel good movie
What a girl wants is one of my favorite movies. Two words – Colin Firth. I could listen to that man read a subway map.
I dont think you should stop aching, you are talented and very beautiful. Good things will come so just hold on!!!
acting*
I absolutely love What A Girl Wants. She seems so down to earth.
I must be more cynical than the rest of you….I definitely saw those tweets and rolled my eyes. I didn’t take them seriously at all. I quite like Amanda Bynes (loved her in Hairspray) but it felt like a cry for attention for me.
You may be correct sarahp, I went and looked at the Maxim photos/blub that was linked to this post and her comments about wanting to be ‘grown up’ and what her parents thought, etc. Struck me as a bit odd. And those photos were not very flattering – really harsh light and well, not flattering, lol, given how attractive she is.
I’m a great fan of Amanda’s and have been frusterated she hasn’t been able to stake her place in Hollywood. I was quite frustrated but now I feel for her and I hope she comes back soon! Thanks for the article EW.
Why does EVERY female singer and actress have to do a MAXIM-style photoshoot or music video in order to announce they’re “grown up?” You see the same thing going on with those Disney stars (i.e. Miley Cyress) now. It’s become a bizarre American rite of passage and it’s very defrading and sexist. Amanda Bynes always seemed above that, though; even back when she was doing “The Amanda Show” on TV (anyone else remember that?), she showed promise as a comic actress; some were even saying she could be the new Lucille Ball. I wonder what got her so disillusioned. Hope her career thus far was something she enjoyed, not something forced on her by pushy stage parents! But hey, lots of people change careers in life… if she really is just tired of the Hollywood life, or acting in general, why NOT try something else? It’s not like once she leaves acting she can never come back somewhere down the line if she decides she misses it. She’s young, let her try different things. Michael Jackson never got the chance to get out of the entertainment spotlight and would eventually come to regret his lost childhood greatly (and look how that turned out!) Best of luck to Amanda!
I agree, it’s annoying that grown up for for female performers always has to mean looking slutty or doing nudity. Young male performers don’t do that crap to prove they are “grown up”.
“Young male performers don’t do that crap to prove they are ‘grown up.’”
Umm, you sure about that, Felicia? Taylor Lautner has already wh0red himself out for magazine pictorials showing off his body. Zac Efron has done it. And a slew of others. It’s just that no one makes a big deal when young guys do it. But people (like you) make a big deal out of it when girls do it.