Jessica Biel planned to quit Hollywood if she couldn't sell The Sinner: 'Doors did not open'

Even if she's been in show business since the age of 14, Jessica Biel has faced challenges getting certain projects off the ground.

The 42-year-old actress has revealed that she intended to quit Hollywood if she couldn't sell The Sinner, her USA series that nabbed her an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination. The tide began to turn after she formed her own production company, Iron Ocean Studios, but even then, it took a while, Biel said on a recent episode of the podcast The Bright Side.

"Doors did not open at all, even being in the business for so long,” Biel said. "I've had this production company with my partner Michelle Purple for 20 years… I started it with her 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."

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Years later, the two came across The Sinner. Biel said she and Purple "built that show from the ground up" when they were trying to sell it.

"Michelle and I looked at each other and she said, 'If we don't sell this show, I'm quitting,'" Biel recalled. "And I said, 'Me too, I'm quitting. 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.'"

They ultimately sold the series, but Biel called the hurdles the pair encountered a "humbling" experience. "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."

Biel starred opposite Bill Pullman in season 1 of the police procedural anthology series, which premiered on USA Network in 2017 and marked her first role as a series regular since her days on 7th Heaven. The Sinner ran for three more seasons sans Biel in a starring role, but she remained onboard as an executive producer. Her acting and executive-producing credits since then have included the series Limetown and Candy.

Listen to Biel's podcast interview in full above.