Back in Action' director Seth Gordon tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx supported each other throughout filming — when the actress marked her return to acting with her first movie in over a decade and the actor had a medical emergency during production in April 2023.

Cameron Diaz, who stars in Netflix's new action-comedy 'Back in Action' alongside Jamie Foxx, shared in a new interview that her acting return was "all thanks to" her costar.

At the end of Back in Action, they open the door for a sequel. Emily (Diaz) and Matt (Foxx) are back in their suburban life. They are joined by Emily's mom, Ginny (Glenn Close), and her boyfriend, Nigel (Jamie Demetriou). However, they are recruited for another mission, which would require the enlisting of her father.

It’s a really unexpected coincidence that the title and some of the themes and her character’s situation [as a retired spy turned mom] lined up with real life. It’s almost as if Back in Action was meant to coax her out of retirement, but I swear it wasn’t. It’s just extraordinary timing and really good fortune and Jamie’s access, frankly.

Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx, the stars of Netflix's action film Back in Action, also led in one of the most quotable football movies ever made.

Foxx and Diaz star in Netflix's 'Back in Action' — which marks the actress' first film since 2014's 'Annie' Jamie Foxx will always be in Cameron Diaz's corner. Foxx, 57, served as a big supporter for Diaz,

Back in Action’ director Seth Gordon praises Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz’s friendship on set of her first movie in a decade

The action-comedy overcame more than the usual amount of hurdles on the way to the screen, all the way up to its New York premiere being canceled in solidarity with the troubling times in Los Angeles.

Jamie Foxx hyped Cameron Diaz up on the set of Netflix's "Back in Action," her first film in more than a decade after she retired from Hollywood.

Mashable's entertainment team picks our Watch of the Week, TV shows and movies that you absolutely must add to your list. This Netflix original kicks off with Diaz and Foxx as a pair of sexy spies, transporting a digital key on a secret mission.

You'll see the "third-act 'twist' coming a mile off", said Ben Travis in Empire, and Andrew Scott and Kyle Chandler are "wasted in insubstantial roles". But Back in Action is a fun, "fizzily watchable" treat. A word to Diaz: "Next time don't leave it so long, eh?"

As married CIA operatives who dropped out and have to come back, Foxx and Diaz anchor a Netflix product-of-the-week movie where nothing's at stake.