Robin Wright thinks that Hollywood is a difficult place "if you have integrity."

The House of Cards star refused to take "wife and arm candy" roles which would have raised her profile, and instead concentrate on raising her daughter Dylan, 23, and son Hopper, 20, with ex-husband Sean Penn while waiting for a properly engaging part to play.

"Hollywood is difficult to navigate if you have integrity, so I opted not to work if there wasn't enough to do in a role, which doesn't have to do with the role's size. If there's nothing for me to do as an actress, that's frustrating ... I'd rather go work at a menial labor job, where I can actually get my hands dirty," she said.

The 48-year-old actress admits her decision to stand back had an affect on her, adding, "In a sense it hurts, because you're like, 'I want to play too!' I just don't want to play that way. I'm not up there with Kate Winslet and Julia Roberts. I don't sell tickets. I've known that for a long time."

Robin - who is now engaged to be married to Ben Foster - also said she had considered plastic surgery. "I was really considering that stuff, because in Hollywood the pressure's there. You better lift that face and pump those lips and hike those boobs! And I was like, 'I don't want to do that. I'm going to get older. I'm going to have wrinkles!'" she admitted.

Although she didn't opt for full surgery, Robin has previously admitted she has "the tiniest sprinkle of Botox twice a year."