Phoebe Waller-Bridge reveals reason she quit ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ series

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has spoken about her exit from the series Mr & Mrs Smith.

The Fleabag star and creator, who was set to star and co-write the TV adaptation, said in a new interview that creative projects are “like a marriage” and that “some marriages don’t work out”. Waller-Bridge left the Amazon project in September 2021.

She told Vanity Fair: “I worked on that show for six months fully in heart and mind and really cared about it – still care about it.

“And I know it’s gonna be brilliant. But sometimes it’s about knowing when to leave the party. You don’t want to get in the way of a vision.”

The actress and screenwriter also confirmed that her creative deal with Amazon was still intact after reports emerged this year highlighted that she hadn’t yet produced anything for the studio.

Waller-Bridge was due to star opposite Donald Glover in the series, which is an adaptation of the 2005 assassins action-comedy film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Glover and Waller-Bridge first worked together on the 2018 Star Wars spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The Atlanta creator devised the concept for a reboot of Mr & Mrs Smith before presenting it to Waller-Bridge. Filming began in 2022.

Waller-Bridge added in the interview that she accepts she is “creatively controlling” rather than a perfectionist. “What I look for in something is that little bit of electricity, of danger or saying something, doing something that hasn’t been done before,” she said.

“If I don’t feel that, I can plough and plough and plough, I just won’t make it.”

Amazon Studios, she added, have been understanding about her particularities. “They’ve been with me along this process where I’m like, ‘I’m getting there, but I want it to be fucking amazing,” she said.

Maya Erskine is now in the role of Jane Smith opposite Glover’s John Smith. A release date for the series is yet to be confirmed.

Elsewhere, Waller-Bridge has revealed how she managed to overcome stage fright.

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