Michelle Pfeiffer on her hiatus from acting: 'I became unhireable'

Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Michelle Pfeiffer says she became "unhireable" during her hiatus from acting.

The 59-year-old actress discussed her comeback on Thursday's episode of Today ahead of her films Murder on the Orient Express, which opens Friday, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, which debuts in July 2018.

"You know, I wish I could really take credit for making this big sort of sacrifice, but it sort of just evolved. I guess my priorities maybe shifted," she explained of her retreat from the spotlight.

Pfeiffer, who shares 24-year-old daughter Claudia Rose and 23-year-old son John Henry with husband David E. Kelley, said she stepped back in part to focus on her family.

"We moved out of Los Angeles," the actress recalled. "The older the kids got, it became more and more difficult to say 'yes.' I became pickier and pickier: 'Well, where does it shoot? When does it shoot? How long will I be away?'"

"At some point, I became unhireable. That was really the real reason why I hadn't worked," she confessed. "Time just went and kind of flew by."

Pfeiffer shared similar sentiments in the April issue of Interview, explaining her now-empty nest and enduring love for acting prompted her to return to film.

"I've never lost my love for acting. I feel really at home on the movie set. I'm a more balanced person honestly when I'm working," she said. "I'm more open now, my frame of mind, because I really want to work now, because I can."

Pfeiffer is known for such films as Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons, Love Field and Batman Returns. She starred in the HBO film The Wizard of Lies and the movie Mother! this year.