After a career spanning over two decades, Minka Kelly (44) found herself questioning her place in Hollywood. The “Ransom Canyon” star recently revealed on “Today with Jenna & Friends” that she’d “thought so many times” her acting days were behind her, even contemplating a return to her former life as a scrub tech.
“Every job that finishes, you’re like… and then the amount of time passes, and you are like, ‘OK, this is it. I had a good run and that’s okay. Everything’s okay. I have my backup. I can be a scrub tech again,'” Kelly shared, reflecting on the industry’s often uncertain nature.
Her role as Quinn O’Grady in Netflix’s latest hit, a musician and dance hall owner caught in a love triangle between two feuding ranchers (played by Eoin Macken and Josh Duhamel), has proven to be her most cherished experience yet. Kelly attributes this to her personal growth. “I am in the best place I have ever been, so I’m able to just really be in it in a different way than before,” she explained, adding that a “sense of comfort that comes with life experience and also maybe just being a woman in her 40s” has made all the difference.
From “Friday Night Lights” to Netflix’s “Ransom Canyon”: Minka Kelly’s Unexpected Return to Stardom
Best known as Lyla Garrity from “Friday Night Lights,” Minka Kelly admits she nearly hung up her acting boots for good before securing her role in Netflix’s “Ransom Canyon.” The 44-year-old actress confessed on “Today with Jenna & Friends” that the thought of her Hollywood career ending had crossed her mind “so many times.”
Despite a successful run that includes appearances in “Just Go With It,” “Jane the Virgin,” and “Euphoria,” Kelly described the recurring anxiety actors face between gigs. “I think that every job that finishes, you’re like… and then the amount of time passes, and you are like, ‘OK this is it. I had a good run and that’s OK. Everything’s OK. I have my backup. I can be a scrub tech again.'”
However, her experience playing Quinn O’Grady in the new series—a character navigating a complicated love triangle in a small town—has revitalized her passion. Filming in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Kelly grew up, added another layer of personal significance. Though the return to her hometown initially felt “scary,” it ultimately became a healing journey. As detailed in her 2023 memoir, “Tell Me Everything,” Kelly had a challenging childhood in Albuquerque. Returning for “Ransom Canyon” allowed her to “make peace” with her past. “I have my power back,” she affirmed, seeing her hometown “with more grown-up, more healed eyes.”
Minka Kelly’s Backup Plan: Why the “Ransom Canyon” Star Isn’t Afraid to Leave Hollywood Behind
Even with a leading role in Netflix’s “Ransom Canyon,” Minka Kelly isn’t afraid of life beyond the limelight. The “Friday Night Lights” alum, 44, candidly shared on “Today with Jenna & Friends” that she’s often considered her acting career over, even musing about returning to her former profession as a surgical scrub technician.
“I think that every job that finishes, you’re like… and then the amount of time passes, and you are like, ‘OK this is it. I had a good run and that’s OK. Everything’s okay. I have my backup. I can be a scrub tech again,'” Kelly revealed, emphasizing the confidence her backup career gives her. “This isn’t the whole world, so the rejection that you get being an actor is sort of balanced out for me in that I can go, ‘I’m good at this’ and I loved it so much.”
Despite these moments of doubt, her experience on “Ransom Canyon” playing Quinn O’Grady has been a profound one. Kelly described it as her “favorite job” to date, largely because she’s “in the best place I have ever been.” The series, filmed in her childhood hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, also offered an unexpected path to healing and reflection on her challenging upbringing, which she detailed in her 2023 memoir, “Tell Me Everything.”
