Demi Lovato Shares the Sad Reason Why She Stopped Acting
Two years after a near-fatal drug overdose, the career comeback of Demi Lovato already looks promising based on various recent live music performances. Fans should also never forget Lovato was once an actress as her initial career entrance. After all, she was The Disney Channel’s next big It Girl 12 years ago when she landed a debut role in their TV musical Camp Rock.
For a number of years, you could see Lovato everywhere as an actress and singer. Yes, she always has kept the designation of actress in her bio, even if skipping out on acting for a while until now.
With some new acting projects coming up, fans have a chance to see her pick up where she left off. Why she stopped acting, though, is a disturbing tale.
Demi Lovato explains why she stopped acting in a new Harper’s Bazaar interview
Lovato is doing a lot more analyzing of her career lately as a way to get a new handle on her life outlook. A lot of things have been ironed out for her to a point where it seems she finally found herself in a peaceful place.
A large part of her earlier troubles was due to body image. In a recent Harper’s Bazaar interview, she noted she stopped acting initially due to fears about what her body looked like. It was a shame since she showed promise as a young actress.
The last thing she acted in before taking a long break was a guest shot in a TV episode of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series in 2015. This came just after having a popular recurring role on the musical series Glee during the 2013-14 season.
After 2015, it was just guest shots as herself on various shows and a couple of animated voice work credits, something we now know was due to the body pressures of being in front of a camera. As she said herself in the above interview: “My eating disorder kept me from going back to acting for years. But I finally came to a place with my body where I thought, ‘Why am I going to let this stop me when it’s just my shell?’ I’ve stopped letting my weight control my life.”
An episode of Will & Grace was her gradual acting comeback
During the final season of NBC’s Will & Grace early this year, Lovato made her reentrance into the acting arena. She played the role of Jenny, who becomes a potential baby surrogate for Will.
Her role there proved again her capability to do comedy, something her Disney days showcased to some degree. With more maturity now about life, her acting might take a better turn by critics. However, she might stick to doing comedy since her next big acting project has her teaming up with Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams in a major Netflix film.
The name of this project is called Eurovision, a parody about two Icelandic singers (Ferrell and McAdams) performing in the famous international song contest. Lovato plays one of the international singers named “Katiana.”
Performing in a comedy like this could break open a new niche for her, if ultimately therapeutic. After all the drama Lovato went through, being able to have fun in movie comedies might be a new form of therapy. Besides, when it becomes a musical comedy, the opportunity is always there to have her sing a new hit single.
It seems Will Ferrell is becoming a fatherly figure
When the announcement of Eurovision occurred on Instagram, Will Ferrell was seen posting a video holding a homemade birthday cake for Lovato. Having him in her corner as a fatherly figure/comedic mentor will likely do a lot toward paving a path forward in her acting career again.
Nobody else could teach comedic timing/skill better than Ferrell. Thanks to Lovato having this much support in showbiz, her road ahead finally looks promising and perhaps a bit overdue.
Thanks to a better Hollywood now allowing all body shapes to thrive in acting, she can finally be herself in an acting niche all her own.
