Jonah Hill ready to 'be funny' again after taking break from Hollywood

Jonah Hill is ready to "be funny in front of a crowd" again after taking time out from Hollywood.

In August 2022, the Academy Award-nominated actor announced that he wouldn't be promoting any of his films as a result of having "spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks".

But on Saturday, Hill made a surprise appearance at the taping of SiriusXM's SmartLess Live event in Los Angeles, which was hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes.

Addressing the crowd, the Superbad star explained that he has a different mindset now.

"I've been gone for a while, so I'm kind of coming back and I'm like excited because I got all, like, serious for a while and I wasn't as happy," he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "And then I had my family and I got happy, and now all I want to do is be funny again. That's why I said yes (to being on SmartLess). I'm, like, I want to go f**king be funny in front of a crowd and that'd be awesome."

In addition, Hill credited moving away from Los Angeles with his wife Olivia Millar and their two young children around three years ago as a turning point.

"I live in a very small town in San Diego, and it's amazing, and my neighbours are incredible people," the 42-year-old continued. "I wanted to leave L.A. and raise a family outside of Los Angeles."

Elsewhere in the chat, Hill also noted that becoming a parent has informed his desire to get back into the entertainment industry. The Moneyball actor recently confirmed he had and Millar had wed, with the pair sharing a three-year-old son and new baby.

"If you're bummed, you don't feel like being that funny, right? The first thing I thought about when I had my kids and was so stoked, it was like I connected to back when I was just like 12 and I was just being funny for fun," he added. "That's the thing I fell in love with my whole life."

Earlier this month, Hill released the comedy movie Outcome, which he co-wrote, directed and stars in. The film, also starring Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer, is now streaming on Apple TV.