The latest Scary Movie made $55 million at the box office. It was the franchise’s sixth installment and marked the return of the Wayans Brothers, Anna Faris, and Regina Hall. Throughout the press tour, Anna has been candid about how her career slowed down after she left Mom in 2020, and she thought she’d been “put out to pasture.”

In a recent interview with Variety, Anna said that the movie’s success has been a big “victory” and shared that she has three more films coming out in 2026. She also opened up about how she got started in comedy, navigated the sexism of the early 2000s, and struggled after her 2018 divorce from Chris Pratt. You can read the full interview here, but here are some highlights:

Her comedic origin story: “Through a series of circumstances, I got an audition tape in front of Keenan Ivory Wayans. It all happened so fast, and was less of a dream of mine being realized and more of a dream being formed. I felt like someone blindfolded me, put me in a helicopter and dropped me in a strange land. I’d never identified as funny. So, Keenen giving me that gift of casting me was a 180 in my life. Then, the years after that, I felt frustrated at times with the headiness of the industry. I found myself getting swept up in ego and competition at times — things I didn’t like to recognize in myself. One time, I remember Keenen saw me and must have conveyed envy toward Shannon Elizabeth getting to look so beautiful and sexy, and I just fundamentally did not feel that I should be watched, as a person. I was a “back of the class” kinda kid. And Keenen told me, ‘There’s no vanity in comedy.’”

On becoming famous in the Maxim/FHM Era: “[Young actresses having to pose as a ‘rite of passage’] was weird. I think at one point I was, like, No. 73 on Maxim’s Hot 100. It was weird as a quiet, average kid who liked the Dewey Decimal System. I also did not come from a family that took a lot of pictures, and suddenly, I had to have fun with it and look directly into the camera. Those were ideas that I did not understand, and I didn’t enjoy it.”

Being typecast: “I was really naïve to the idea of the lack of imagination Hollywood had in terms of the categorization of comedy and drama. I never recognized the difference because I’d done mostly dramatic work and the preparation for it was the same, fundamentally. It felt really frustrating. Journalists would ask me, “Are you afraid of being typecast?” and I’d go, “Well, yeah.” I thought I was quickly losing options. I wanted to act and couldn’t believe I was able to support myself from it, but not as opulently as people would assume.”

Working through her divorce: “I was feeling sad. Sad. I do feel like I had enough gumption, enough of a core, and I have tried to be careful about how much Hollywood infiltrates, but now I’ve been on a spectrum of fame for 26 years, so I would be naïve to think that it hasn’t shaped who I am at this point. But, f–k. The scrutiny. I’m lucky that at that time I had my podcast [“Unqualified”]. I wanted, like, four people to listen and to build my own secret community. I wanted an avenue outside of Hollywood as a way to connect with people.”

She craves connection: I used to do this thing where, if I was on a ski lift with a stranger, I’d say, “Do you want to have a really intense ten-minute conversation with me? And you can answer any question you want to.” And I’d ask them questions like, “When was the first time you fell in love?” I’ve had a constant desire to connect with people. I didn’t disclose a lot on the podcast, but I always felt like I could if I needed to. The podcast helped me a lot during that time, and it made me think: I know I could be happy if I’m writing, because I’ve always loved that, and maybe that’s an avenue to make money. I was thinking of a version of retirement. But now, I feel like the opportunities are more bountiful than they’ve ever been! I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude. When people see me, they usually smile and say, “Oh, I love ‘The House Bunny!’” or “Oh, I love ‘Scary Movie!’” or “‘Mom’ helped me through that hard time.”

[From Variety]

I feel for what Anna went through after her divorce from Chris. It wouldn’t surprise me if she left Mom because she needed a change. I’ve always been impressed that neither Anna nor Chris have spilled any real tea about what went wrong. It’s great that Anna was able to get so much from doing her podcast. I can totally understand the need for connection and how “Unqualified” helped her get through the divorce. I’m an extrovert who thrives on socializing. The lack of social activity during the early days of the pandemic messed me up, but I had a few weekly Zoom meetings with girlfriends and coworkers that helped maintain a small level of connection. Basically, I’m the person who would have engaged in Anna’s ski lift conversation.

As for the rest of Anna’s interview, it’s always astounded me that we went through a whole PR cycle in which young women had to pose for mags like Maxim in order to get attention. I’m so glad we’re beyond that. I also didn’t know that Anna wanted to be a big dramatic actress. She really was a victim of early 2000s Hollywood typecasting. One of her upcoming films, Primetime, is a drama starring Robert Pattinson. I’m genuinely curious to see her performance and hope it does well.

Photos credit: Kirwin, PacificCoastNews/Avalon, Martin Sloan/Avalon