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"As a child actress, Mara Wilson captivated audiences in family-friendly films like Matilda, Miracle on 34th Street and Mrs. Doubtfire. After 2000&amp;apos;s Thomas &amp;amp; the Magic Railroad, however, Wilson left showbiz behind -- without much explanation.\r\nWilson, who studied art at New York University and now works as a playwright, finally addressed her early retirement in a March blog post.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;Imagine that when you were a child, you liked to finger-paint. It was a fun pastime, but it came easily to you, so you never took much pride in it. Regardless, you got a reputation for your finger-painting. Now imagine that, 15 to 29 years later, people are coming up to you and telling you that they have your finger-paintings up on their walls and that your finger-paints changed your life. It&amp;apos;s flattering, but you haven&amp;apos;t finger-painted in years, and it seems like something you did a long, long time ago. You&amp;apos;ve realized you don&amp;apos;t particularly enjoy getting your hands dirty and that there are other outlets for your creative urges. But people are adamant: &amp;apos;Are you going to finger-paint again? When? Wait, you&amp;apos;re not? Why not?&amp;apos; That&amp;apos;s what it feels like.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThough Wilson still hears from her fans on Facebook and Twitter &amp;quot;nearly every day,&amp;quot; she doesn&amp;apos;t miss being in movies. &amp;quot;Film acting is not very fun,&amp;quot; she writes. &amp;quot;Doing the same thing over and over again until, in the director&amp;apos;s eyes, you &amp;apos;get it right,&amp;apos; does not allow for very much creative freedom. The best times I had on film sets were the times the director let me express myself, but those were rare.&amp;quot;\r\nShe adds: &amp;quot;Film can be exciting, but more often, it&amp;apos;s tedious. The celebrity aspect is nothing short of ridiculous, and auditioning is brutal and dehumanizing. Every time I see a pretty young girl on the subway reading sides for an audition, my only thought is, &amp;apos;Man, am I glad I&amp;apos;m not doing that anymore.&amp;apos; I never feel nostalgia, just relief.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nWilson goes on to say that &amp;quot;there are many much more talented, much more conventionally attractive actresses out there who are taking the roles I would have been offered,&amp;quot; like Anna Kendrick, 26, Ellen Page, 25, and Jennifer Lawrence, 21.\r\nThe former child star then reiterates that she doesn&amp;apos;t &amp;quot;have any plans to pursue film acting. It&amp;apos;s not my &amp;apos;thing&amp;apos; anymore, if it ever was. Yes, I do still act [on stage] sometimes. But when I do, it&amp;apos;s with people I know and trust, people who respect me as a person and appreciate what I have to offer.&amp;quot;\r\nWith no desire to ever return to the spotlight, Wilson adds: &amp;quot;And no, you will never see me on Dancing With the Stars. Sorry.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/child-star-mara-wilson-why-i-quit-film-acting-2012174>