Katherine Heigl says she overdid it with the romantic comedies

LONDON, July 1 (UPI) -- Katherine Heigl discussed her romantic comedy "by rote" while interviewing for the August issue of Marie Claire UK.

Heigl rose to fame in the mid 2000s for playing "Izzie" Stevens on ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy, but in 2010 the 35-year-old actress left the show to pursue a film career that landed her parts in several romcoms.

"I had an amazing time. I love romantic comedies. But maybe I hit it a little too hard," the actress told the magazine. "I couldn't say no. I stopped challenging myself. It became a bit by rote and, as a creative person, that can wear you down."

The Knocked Up star revealed that the routine, and a sudden falling out with a close friend, eventually prompted her to take time off and figure out what she really wanted.

"I had a moment where, I don't know, I was thinking," she confessed. "I had my moment where it all seemed so complicated and all I wanted to do was simplify."

But now, Heigl is ready to return to the small screen as the star of the NBC political drama, State Of Affairs.

"There's a part of me that's a Hollywood animal as well. I can't wait to get into the writer's room and see how we do this," she said of her new role as both the star and the executive producer of the show. "I feel like I'm finally rolling into the next phase of my adulthood."

Katherine Heigl (Marie Claire)