Mia Sara Says ‘Ferris Bueller’ Role Was Once ‘Embarrassing’ for Her Kids (Exclusive)

Mia Sara might’ve won all the cool girl points while playing Sloane Peterson in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but her own kids once found her role embarrassing.

The actress, 57, who returns to the screen in Mike Flanagan’s new film The Life of Chuck, spoke to PEOPLE about what it was like filming the beloved 1986 movie and shared that her two kids initially weren’t the biggest fans of her role.

“My kids have absolutely seen it. I think when they were younger, it was just embarrassing,” Sara tells PEOPLE. “My kids, because they grew up in Hollywood, they grew up in Los Angeles, they had a lot of friends whose parents were actors who were still really working all the time, and so they were kind of bummed that I stopped working.”

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Although her kids haven’t yet seen her new film, Sara says they’re overjoyed that the actress is making her triumphant return to the silver screen.

“They’re really excited and they’re really proud of me for working again, so that is nice,” the mom of two says.

Sara shares son Dashiell, 28, with ex Jason Connery. She shares daughter Amelia, 20, with husband Brian Henson, son of Muppets creator Jim Henson.

Earlier this month, Sara stepped out for a rare red carpet appearance at the Los Angeles premiere of her new movie The Life of Chuck. The star’s night out marked the first time in nearly 15 years since she’d appeared on a red carpet.

Sara posed for photos alongside the movie’s director and costars Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Pajak, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Hamill, Kate Siegel, Karen Gillan, Carl Lumbly and Annalise Basso, among others.

The Ferris Bueller star’s role in The Life of Chuck comes more than a decade after she last appeared onscreen in 2011’s Dorothy and the Witches of Oz. In 2013, Sara appeared in a short film titled Pretty Pretty.

In The Life of Chuck, Sara portrays Sarah Krantz, the grandmother of Hiddleston’s lead character Charles Krantz. The movie follows the events of Charles’ life in reverse-chronological order. Sara largely worked with younger actors Pajak and Jacob Tremblay, who play young versions of Charles throughout the film, as well as Hamill, 73, who portrays Sarah’s husband Albie.

“Honestly, it really was all about Mike,” Sara says when asked if she envisions more acting roles for the future. “If Mike needs me, I’ll be there.”

The Life of Chuck is in select theaters June 6 and expands nationwide June 13.