Just a few years ago, Jessica Biel was almost ready to call it quits.
Speaking on “The Bright Side” podcast, Biel, 42, was asked how starting her own production company opened new doors for her in Hollywood. Biel and producer Michelle Purple started Iron Ocean 20 years ago and, Biel says, the company had almost no success in its first 10 years.
“Doors did not open at all really, not even being in the business so long,” Biel said. “We had a very challenging time getting any story told. We made a short film, we made a full-length feature, which was beautiful and a cool experience, but it was a labor of love.”
Then came The Sinner, the police anthology series that Biel and Purple co–executive produced. But before they could start shooting the series, based on the Petra Hammesfahr novel of the same name, they had to sell it.
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“When we were actually selling that show, Michelle and I looked at each other and she said, ‘If we don’t sell this show, I’m quitting,’ and I said, ‘Me too, I’m quitting,’” Biel revealed.
She added, “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.”
Fortunately for Biel, USA picked up the series, which she starred in for four seasons alongside Bill Pullman. Biel earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her performance in the first season.
While Biel has been acting since the 1990s, she had to prove herself again as a producer. The timing, as she pointed out, made it even more difficult.
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“It was basically like starting over on some level,” she said. “Also, it was during a time where nobody cared about women’s stories. Female storytelling wasn’t really happening. [It] was way before #MeToo, way before you know, we really had this amazing runway for powerful, complex female stories.”
Looking back, Biel is able to reflect on the work she put in to see The Sinner through, calling it “a very humbling experience.”
“And it still continues to be humbling,” she added. “I don’t find that my industry or being an actor or producer is easy in any shape, 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.”
It’s easy to understand why someone might quit under those circumstances. Instead, Biel and Iron Ocean parlayed their success from The Sinner into Candy, a 2022 crime miniseries on Hulu, and the Freeform anthology series Cruel Summer.
