Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Amazon Deal, Why She Exited ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Series

Xennia Hamilton
·2 min read
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Phoebe Waller-Bridge is opening up about her decision to walk away from Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith series.

The writer-actress recently sat down with Vanity Fair for an interview where she discussed her eight-figure overall deal with Amazon, why she exited the Mr. & Mrs. Smith series and whether she will be directing the next James Bond film.

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Although the multihyphenate closed the door on her hit streaming show Fleabag with its second and final season in 2019, there was the potential for a new project to come out of her multiyear deal with Amazon in a Mr. & Mrs. Smith TV reboot she was set to appear in alongside Donald Glover.

In September 2021, it was announced that Waller-Bridge was exiting the straight-to-series adaptation of the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie film, with sources saying that Waller-Bridge had a different creative vision for the series than Glover.

When opening up about walking away from the series, Waller-Bridge said she “really cared” about the project.

“I worked on that show for six months fully in heart and mind and really cared about it — still care about it,” Waller-Bridge said. “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. Creative collaboration is like a marriage, and some marriages don’t work out.”

Yet, the actress also feels that she wants to do right by Amazon Studios after they, in her words, “took a punt on her.” Describing herself as “creatively controlling,” Waller-Bridge said Amazon understands how she is, explaining, “They’ve been with me along this process where I’m like, ‘I’m getting there, but I want it to be fucking amazing.'”

As for rumors Waller-Bridge is directing the next James Bond movie after only directing a single music video, she laughed it off. “My mum sent me that rumor too,” Waller-Bridge said while coyly laughing it away. “So the obvious leap is James Bond.”

Later on, Waller-Bridge also shared surprising advice when asked if she could tell her 20-year-old self anything. “Are you fucking kidding me? I would be asking her to tell me everything! Remind me, remind me. And she’d say: ‘Fuck ’em all. Get out there and burn shit down,'” she said.

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