"It gave me a sense of self": Veep star Anna Chlumsky on being a child actor and deciding to leave Hollywood

At just 10 years old, Anna Chlumsky began her career as an actor. In 1991, Chlumsky landed the lead role in the Hollywood blockbuster My Girl. Chlumsky played Vada Sultenfuss, a young girl on the cusp of adolescence, opposite Macaulay Culkin. 

After My Girl, Chlumsky was cast in a few more films and television shows, but felt dissatisfied with the way show business operated, "As a whole, It was one big popularity contest," says Chlumsky. Unhappy and fed up with Hollywood, she decided to leave indefinitely.

Now she's back in a show that differs greatly from her My Girl roots. Chlumsky stars in Veep as  Amy Brookheimer —  the sharp-tongued, trouble-shooter and chief of staff to the president of the United States, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Chlumsky joined our host Tom Power to talk Veep, her time as a child actor and how leaving the industry for a little while restored her sense of self.

The new season of Veep airs on April 16, 2017 on HBO.

— Produced by Jean Kim.