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Why we haven't seen much of Hilary Swank in the last three years.

Hilary Swank is slowly finding her way back to the bright lights of Hollywood after taking more than three years off to care for her ailing father.

In an interview with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, Swank said her father was in good health after undergoing a lung transplant.

“He’s great, thank you for asking,” she said. “It’s the hardest surgery a person can undergo, and I thank all the people who make themselves a donor, it saves lives.”

Swank said if her father hadn’t had the operation, doctors predicted he would have a “short time to live”.

“He’s alive and thriving and well. I took three years off to be with him and help him through that life journey.”

In 2015, Swank first made public the news of her father’s condition in an interview with HuffPost Live.

“My dad is living with me,” she said at the time. “I’m his sole caretaker now.”

“There is nothing I want to do more other than being with my dad in this time of need. And if it wasn’t me taking care of him, I think I would always look back and regret that opportunity to be able to take care of him and help him through this extraordinary time.

“It’s a certain amount of time [to serve as a caretaker], but in a lifespan it’s a blink of an eye,” she went on. “There’s been job opportunities I’ve passed on, and things that I said ‘I can’t,’ but really what we’re here for is our family.”

In 2017, she slowly made her return to film with roles in Logan Lucky and 55 Steps. This year, she has a starring role in What They Had.

Bec Sparrow and Robin Bailey discuss the importance of the paternal bond.