And what she mostly did was edgy, smaller films.
It should have been smooth sailing to stardom from there, but instead of taking her rightful place on the A-list, Cook just kind of disappeared.
Perhaps her experimentation outside of her lane proved she shouldn't stray from it.
Why did she drop off the radar? The film holds a ghastly 24 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the headline bad acting as one of its many missteps.
In Cook's case, she gave birth to two kiddos in short order while working on Perception daughter Charlotte was born in 2013 and son Theodore in 2015 , and all signs point to her making motherhood her first priority.
It was a smart choice for Cook and a great chance to get back on Hollywood's radar in a part unlike the one that made her famous.