By Mallory Mattingly
After leaving her role as Olivia on THE WALTONS, Michael Learned’s life took some unexpected turns, including a 10-year hiatus from Hollywood, but the 86 year old wouldn’t change a thing.
Learned admitted on the “Still Here, Hollywood” podcast that she left THE WALTONS because the writers didn’t know what to do with her character.
“They’d have me ironing and going, ‘and then what happened, kids? And then where did you go? John-Boy, more coffee?’ and things just to have me in the scene. But as an actor, it was just boring,” she explained.
Related: WALTONS Star Michael Learned Reflects On Show’s Legacy: ‘We Were Truly Family’
She left THE WALTONS in 1979 and landed a role on the 1980s show NURSE, though she “clashed” with the writers on that show, too.
Learned admitted she “offended a lot of people” during that time and “didn’t work for 10 years.” She also got sober alongside her WALTONS costar Ralph Waite.
“We both got sober and it stuck,” she said, per PEOPLE, adding they did “feel a bit of responsibility” to be a good “mom and dad of America.”
“I don’t want to get into psychological stuff, but I was prone to depression,” she added in the interview. “I had a great life. Everything outside was perfect and wonderful, and but inside I was a wreck, and I’m not there anymore. I wake up, and I look around, and I’m happy to be alive and my cats are next to me and my kids are healthy, thank God.”
Though she doesn’t regret leaving THE WALTONS before the show’s final season in 1981, Learned is “eternally” grateful for the role.
“It put my kids through private school,” she said. “…But at the time I complained a lot, you know, ‘I want to be home with my kids,’ and here I was with these lovely kids, but they weren’t mine.”
Should Hollywood make more shows like THE WALTONS?
Would she ever reprise her role as Olivia Walton? It’s a possibility.
“It would depend on the money, honestly. They’d have to pay me, although I think grandma in our show had a wonderful role,” she said. “On THE WALTONS, we were all very close. I still remember our first crew. I know every single name and yeah, it’s a family, hopefully.”
Though her career has had ups and downs, the actress can honestly look back on her life with gratitude.
“I have learned that secrets do not get you anywhere,” Learned said. “Believe it or not, I am a deeply flawed human being. While I have made plenty of mistakes, they have made me who I am today. I’ve had an interesting life, and I am grateful for everything that happened.”
It sounds like working on THE WALTONS was both a blessing and a struggle in some ways for Learned.
Read Next: Here’s What We Can Expect from THE WALTONS Stars’ Reunion This Fall
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