Elisha Cuthbert Reveals Why She Took a 4-Year Break from Acting, Calls “Every Year After” the 'Perfect' Return (Exclusive)

Julia MooreTue, June 9, 2026 at 8:38 PM UTC

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Sadie Soverall as Percy Fraser and Elisha Cuthbert as Sue Florek in 'Every Year After'Credit: Justine Yeung/Prime Video -

Elisha Cuthbert took a four-year hiatus to be with her two kids, whom she shares with husband Dion Phaneuf

She returns in Every Year After, and she tells PEOPLE why the role in the new Prime Video series felt like "perfect timing"

Every Year After premieres Wednesday, June 10, on Prime Video

Elisha Cuthbert is ready to dive back into Hollywood after taking some time away.

The actress, 43, steps into the shoes of the beloved matriarch Sue Florek in Every Year After, a new Prime Video adaptation of Carley Fortune's bestselling 2022 novel, Every Summer After.

Cuthbert's character's death is the catalyst for the story, as it brings Percy (Sadie Soverall) back to Barry's Bay, the lakeside Canadian town where she spent her summers as a teen, and back into the world of Sue's two sons: Charlie (Michael Bradway) and Sam (Matt Cornett), her first love.

It's her first major role since The Ranch came to an end in 2020, and it comes after a four-year hiatus she took "to be with my kids," she tells PEOPLE.

"I've been at this for a long time. I started when I was 11. And I just got to a point, when my husband and I had our second [child], and I just thought, this is a good time to be with the kids and without any distractions."

"Those first four years are — they go by so quickly. They say it's, like, in the blink of an eye and they're like teenagers," Cuthbert says of her kids, whom she shares with husband Dion Phaneuf. (They married in 2013.) Taking the time off "felt important to me, and just felt right."

Sadie Soverall as Percy Fraser, Elisha Cuthbert as Sue Florek in 'Every Year After'Credit: Justine Yeung/Prime Video

Every Year After, and Sue in particular, felt just as right. "Getting back on set was just great because I was ready for it and excited. The show is so beautiful, and I get to play a mother, which felt correct on so many levels," she says.

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"To come out and be back on a show like this that feels right for me — and Sue is just so joyful and loving and maternal — it all felt really organic and great," she continues. "It was a nice, smooth transition back to work. It was refreshing."

The role came to her really "organically," Cuthbert says. "Amy [B. Harris], our showrunner, and I had many conversations, and I think Carley was excited at the idea of me coming on to play Sue, so that got me intrigued. Then I read her novel and thought it was amazing. It just all kind of unraveled, and it was just perfect timing."

When her casting as Sue was announced in September, Fortune wrote in an Instagram post, "I'm a forever fan of Elisha Cuthbert's, and I'm wildly excited that she's joined our cast as Sue Florek!"

Elisha Cuthbert attends the 'Every Year After' Premiere during the 2026 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 08, 2026Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty

The response to the casting was a surprise for the 24 star. "I feel like the announcement was bigger than past experiences for me on other shows," she says. "Because I think people who are really obsessed with the book have a real, strong opinion on who these people should be [played by]. And so that is an added pressure for them, for sure."

"I think casting did a fantastic job, really," Cuthbert says. "And Sadie as Percy is just amazing."

Every Year After premieres Wednesday, June 10, on Prime Video.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”