The big problem with Meghan Markle’s acting comeback

Eight years after announcing her retirement from Hollywood to become a working royal, Meghan Markle is reportedly reviving her acting career to make a return to screens — as herself. The Duchess of Sussex — who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and returned to the safety of California citing exhaustion and desire for peace — is believed to be filming scenes for a forthcoming film, Close Personal Friends, alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid, according to The Sun.

A studio source claimed the duchess was on set of the Amazon MGM Studios production shooting scenes in Pasadena this week. They added the film, which follows two couples — one famous and one not — who become friends, was a “massive moment” for Markle and “signifies a return to doing what she truly loves”. According to the source, Markle has been “swamped with offers” to get back in front of the camera but this one — perhaps the easiest role of all time — “felt right”. “It is Meghan’s way of gently putting her toe back in the water and seeing how she enjoys being back on set,” they explained, adding everyone was “super excited” and had been “sworn to secrecy”.

Markle’s decision to play herself in her career-reviving role is decidedly strange. She has spent the last year being beguiled by bees and making cakes with B-list celebrities on her lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, which was widely lampooned. Could playing herself fix a floundering reputation? Somehow it seems unlikely. The 44-year-old former Suits star, who played paralegal Rachel Zane for seven seasons of the show, was a solid actor before she packed it all in to shake hands and wave from balconies when she agreed to marry Prince Harry in 2017.

“I never had to worry about a scene she was going to be in. I knew that she’d bring a performance that was just right,” The West Wing star Tim Matheson told Fox of his time directing Markle during season one of Suits last year, adding the duchess’s choice to quit acting “was a bold move on her part”. For Markle to play herself now feels more than a little overly safe and misguided. There’s always something decidedly cringe about an A-lister who cameos as their own famous face in a film: Donald Trump in Home Alone, Al Pacino in Jack and Jill, Katy Perry in Zoolander 2, to give a few examples. Markle returned to screens amid her Hollywood hiatus with the tell-all Harry & Meghan documentary that aired in 2022, followed by two seasons of With Love, Meghan in March and August 2025, which saw her cook and craft alongside stars including Mindy Kahling and Tan France to try and make good on her deal with the streaming platform — thought to be worth over $100m (£74m).

A special Christmas episode of With Love, Meghan, called Holiday Celebration is now slated to air this December for the festive season. In August this year, Sussex’s multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix became markedly less prestigious when it became a “first look” deal rather than an exclusive contract with the streaming service. Now, Netflix will get to see what content the couple come up with and say “yes” or “no” before anyone else — but they will not be under any obligation to stream it. A huge glaring sign that nothing Markle has released as herself has hit quite the same success reputationally as Suits — her last good performance.

Yet, perhaps the true reason Markle can only play herself is that she has such a domineering personal brand thanks to all this Netflix hullabaloo that it’s too difficult for her to believably play anybody else — without severe amounts of special effects makeup or some kind of elaborate costume. Still, if we’re to believe what sources say to People, Markle, who has been put through the ringer quite enough in the past decade, is very “relaxed and happy” about her small part. Maybe, after all the criticism and the disparaging reviews, taking a creative risk felt just a little too scary. Sometimes, it’s better the devil you know — even if that is yourself.