Jessica Biel would have quit showbiz if her show ‘The Sinner’ didn’t take off.
The actress, 42, struggled for years to land a hit series after she founded her production company Iron Ocean Studios two decades ago with her 48-year-old producer friend Michelle Purple.
She has now told ‘The Bright Side’ podcast about how things got so hard she considered giving up on the entertainment business: “Doors did not open at all, even being in the business for so long.
“I started it with (Michelle) when I was 22, and for the first 10 years, we had almost no success at all. We had a very challenging time getting any story told.”
Jessica added they persisted trying to get projects off the ground as they were involved in a “labour of love”, but admitted it was only when they built ‘The Sinner’ “from the ground up” that things started to change.
She said about launching the police procedural drama starring Bill Pullman: “When we were actually selling that show, Michelle and I looked at each other and she said, ‘If we don’t sell this show, I’m quitting.’
“And I said, ‘Me too, I’m quitting. I’m not doing this. I don’t know – if this show doesn’t sell, I don’t know what people want, I don’t know what to bring them. I don’t understand this business anymore. I just don’t get it anymore.’
“And then we sold it in the room.
“It was so weird.”
‘The Sinner’ made its debut in 2017 and ran for four seasons, landing Golden Globe nominations and huge audiences.
Jessica, who married singer Justin Timberlake, 43, in 2012, added the experience with her production company was “a very humbling experience”.
She went on: “I don’t find that my industry – or being an actor or producer – is easy in any way, shape or form.
“It is so much blood, sweat and tears that you put into getting these projects made, and so many of the things we work on never, ever come to fruition.”
