The 48-year-old actress refused to take "wife and arm candy" roles which would have raised her profile, and instead concentrate on raising her daughter Dylan, 23, and son Hopper, 20, reported Contactmusic.
"Hollywood is difficult to navigate if you have integrity, so I opted not to work if there wasn't enough to do in a role, which doesn't have to do with the role's size.
"If there's nothing for me to do as an actress, that's frustrating... I'd rather go work at a menial labour job, where I can actually get my hands dirty," she said.
"I'm not up there with Kate Winslet and Julia Roberts. I don't sell tickets. I've known that for a long time," she added.