Anna Faris Says Taking Time Away from Acting Wasn't a 'Conscious' Decision — but 'It Felt Great'

David Livingston/Getty Anna Faris

Time away from acting was just what Anna Faris needed.

Faris, 46, has built her résumé with an array of high-profile roles including the Scary Movie franchise, The House Bunny, What's my Number? and The Hot Chick, to name a few.

But her longest role was as Christy Plunkett on the popular CBS sitcom Mom, though she surprisingly left the series ahead of what would be its eighth and final season.

Since stepping away from Mom in 2020, Faris has been very selective about her roles, mostly appearing in animated work aside from 2022's The Estate.

As Faris exclusively tells PEOPLE, this wasn't a "conscious" choice made on her part. However, she began reassessing her situation as the Greater Los Angeles area "really shut down" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I kind of took my foot off the gas and I spent a lot of time with my son. It felt really good," Faris says while promoting her new Avocados From Mexico Super Bowl 2023 ad. "It wasn't conscious, but sort of a sabbatical, I guess."

Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Anna Faris on Mom

RELATED: Anna Faris Says It 'Felt Liberating' to Pose Nude in Avocados From Mexico Super Bowl Ad

Today, Faris feels much better for taking this time away from her busy career.

"It felt great. And now, what also feels great is that all of the projects and the characters that I've been sort of subconsciously kicking around, feel like they're slowly kind of starting to sprout," the Unqualified podcast host adds. "And I feel really proactive, which feels great."

As for her next big project, Faris is starring in a Super Bowl 2023 ad for Avocados From Mexico. For this venture, the actress will be stepping into the Garden of Eden as Eve, helping to tell the tale of what the brand describes as "a story as old as time, how one magical avocado could change the world as we know it."

Avocados From Mexico Anna Faris

Faris actually had to strip down for the commercial, though she tells PEOPLE it was a very "liberating" experience.

"When I realized that the wardrobe in my trailer was a tiny little thong and these jelly-like bra things, I guess they're just nipple covers, I thought to myself, all right, this is what my beautiful day is going to look like," she says. "I felt really proud that I'm kind of at this place in life where I could spend a lot of time feeling modest and insecure, or I just embrace it."

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Super Bowl LVII will be broadcast live from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox.