Tilda Swinton is taking a break from acting for the rest of the year.

The Oscar-winning actress revealed at a Berlin International Film Festival press conference on Friday that she is taking the rest of the year off because “things have got a little crazy” in the industry.

“I need a break, and I’m going to have one,” the 64-year-old stated, reports Deadline. “We all know filmmaking is a merciless mistress and I have been under the lash for a while.”

She continued, “When I go home to Scotland on Monday, I am entering something that I have been looking forward to for 15 years, which is a period of my life when I do something different. I can’t quite say what it is, but I can say I’m not shooting a film for the rest of this year.”

The Michael Clayton star explained that she wanted time to develop several projects, some of which are “for cinema”, and noted that indie filmmakers aren’t given that luxury these days, as there is often a rush to go into production as soon as financing is found.

“In the olden days – ‘BC’, before Covid – people used to say, ‘We think we’ve got the money to make an independent film,’ and we would just say, ‘Can we just hold another nine months to develop something?’ and people would very often say OK,” she shared. “Since Covid, that has been, ‘No, the money is here now and (we) have to do it.’ That feeling of smash and grab, and the insecurity about finance, has been really strenuous for us all.”

Swinton had a hectic 2024 filming and then promoting Pedro Almodóvar’s drama The Room Next Door, supporting the release of the apocalyptic musical The End, and shooting her psychological thriller The Ballad of a Small Player alongside Colin Farrell.

She has also been busy on the awards season campaign trail with The Room Next Door. She was nominated for a Golden Globe but is not up for any awards at the upcoming BAFTAs, Screen Actors Guild Awards or Oscars.

Swinton was presented with the honorary Golden Bear in recognition of her career at the German film festival on Thursday night.

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