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Everything is coming together for Diane Kruger.
The German actress, 49, has been a mainstay in the movie industry worldwide for nearly three decades, but she says that the current stage of her career is the best it’s ever been.
“All of a sudden, all of these great projects have just landed on my plate,” Kruger tells PEOPLE. “It’s been the most amazing two years, where I feel I’ve done work that I’ve always dreamed of, and it’s coming to fruition.”
It’s a trend she says she’s noticing industry-wide. “We are in this strange moment of time in my life where there [are] a lot more opportunities for women and for women my age,” Kruger says.
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The actress has particularly been enjoying tapping into international projects of late. “Being back in France to do some French language projects — The Seduction that just came out — it’s been a really cool time in my life,” she says, referring to the HBO period drama adapted from Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
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She candidly shares that, after her daughter, Nova, was born in 2018, she “really stepped back” from her career. “I didn’t film or work for eight months after I had her, and it took me a long time to sort of… I would say [it took] a good two years to feel like I was me again.”
“Nova’s 7 now, and it feels like I can take this on again and feel good about it, and I don’t have to worry so much.”
Kruger will next be seen in Little Disasters on Paramount+, a role that she says she was drawn to because there was “a lot that, I guess, at this moment in my life, I could relate to and that I found interesting to explore.”
She plays stay-at-home mom Jess in the series, which was adapted from Sarah Vaughan’s 2020 novel, and her world is upended when her infant daughter, Betsey, sustains an unexplainable head injury. When her longtime friend, ER doctor Liz (Jo Joyner), calls social services on her, Jess’ life completely changes — as do those of all the people around her.
“I loved the premise. I loved Sarah Vaughan, who’s the author of the bestselling book, I love her work,” Kruger says.
“And I thought it was a really interesting mix of a really entertaining show — whodunnit? — and on the other hand, really, what felt to me a very accurate depiction of motherhood and partnerships when they become parents and all the different types of parenting.”
Little Disasters premieres Dec. 11 on Paramount+
