Actor Jessica Biel has opened up about her 15-year-long hiatus from a full-fledged TV commitment, saying she came back to the small screen as she wanted to take control of her career.
The 36-year-old actor was a popular face of the TV show "7th Heaven", where she played Mary Camden for close to 10 years.
For 15 years, Biel made sporadic appearances on television and starred in films such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Total Recall" and "A-Team". She eventually returned to TV with "The Sinner" in 2017.
"There wasn't like a driving force behind it. I got on a path of doing films. But, as we all know, the film industry has become very limited. I wanted to take control of my career again, which is what I had in mind when I started this small production company (Iron Ocean Studios). I felt that it was my duty to step into my own..." Biel told The Hollywood Reporter.
"I felt finally confident in my life, as a person, to do that. Also, television was changing: It's become such an incredible place where if you have a thought-out, interesting, fresh idea, you have a great opportunity, especially as a woman, to put something on television," she added.
Biel felt ambiguous about her role in the second season of "The Sinner", which will premier on August 1, but said that she is involved as a producer on the show.
"I'll definitely be involved as a producer. I can't really say much at this point without giving anything away how much I will be involved on-screen -- that's still being developed and looked at. But lucky for me, no matter what I will always be able to be a part of the show and I'm very proud of it," she said.