Hilary Swank recently opened up about her career hiatus, emphasizing that she has no regrets about stepping away from Hollywood to care for her ailing father. While discussing her latest project, Ordinary Angels, on the Today Show on Monday, the actress, 49, revealed that the film would have been her late father’s “favourite movie” of hers. Reflecting on her hiatus from 2014 to 2017, Swank described it as “one of the most important times of my life.” During this period, she supported her father through a lung transplant and subsequent recovery.
Swank expressed that she was “blessed” to be able to get the time off from work and how it “deepened” her bond with her father, Stephen, who died in 2021. “We had a lot of fun as well,” she shared. “There was a lot of trials and tribulations within there, but it was extraordinary and nothing I would ever regret doing.”
Hilary Swank talks about her moving role in the new movie “Ordinary Angels” that is based on a true story of a family in need, opens up about what surprised her most about being a mom to 10-month-old twins, revealing the sweet story behind their names, and more! pic.twitter.com/V1J5zasvtF
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 19, 2024
‘It would have been my dad’s favourite movie of all time’
Finding comparisons with her upcoming movie, Swank, revealed how the film’s theme resonated with her own life experiences. Reflecting on her role, Swank shared, “My father was a recipient of a lung transplant so organ donation is a big, big thing to me and talking about it. This movie came about three months after my dad passed, so I got this opportunity, I feel like it was sent by my dad, and to tell a movie about an extraordinary human being and family…. I think it would have been my dad’s favourite movie of mine.”
Speaking of her hiatus from the spotlight, which began in 2020, to Health magazine, Swank revealed the challenges of being her father’s primary caretaker, describing the journey as “overwhelming” at times. She explained, “It was supposed to be a year because it takes a year to see if an organ transplant takes. A lung transplant is the most difficult of all, as it’s an incredibly delicate organ. The plan was to take off a year. I became my dad’s health advocate. One year quickly turned into two and then three.”
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Hilary Swank’s father died in October 2021
Swank announced her father’s passing on Instagram several months after discussing her hiatus. Sharing a heartfelt New Year’s Eve post, she honored her father’s memory, recounting their unique bond. Swank expressed, “I had a rather unique relationship with him as I was his sole caretaker after a lung transplant seven years ago. I grew incredibly close to him during this time, deepening our relationship and savouring every moment we had together. He will always remain one of my most favorite persons and not a day goes by that I don’t miss him,” she wrote in the caption at that time.
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