Jennifer Lopez on 'American Idol,' Return to Acting

While millions of Americans are tuned into Season 12 of "American Idol" to watch the fireworks between new judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez is not.

"I have not," Lopez told " Good Morning America" of whether she's watched the show since her headline-making departure from the reality TV show last year. "I kind of want to see it. I've been traveling a lot right now."

Lopez, 43, just wrapped a Latin pop-infused world tour with fellow singer Enrique Iglesias and is now on the road promoting her new movie "Parker," a crime thriller in which she stars as a recently divorced woman.

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Lopez, who shot the movie as her own, real-life marriage to Marc Anthony was ending, says the call from director Taylor Hackford with a chance to return to acting helped cement her decision to leave the "Idol" judging panel.

"He [Hackford] called me specifically and told me he wanted me to do it, while I was on 'American Idol,' actually," Lopez said. "It actually helped me in my decision when I had to make the decision on whether to stay with 'Idol' or not."

"I was like, you know what, it's time for me to get back to what I do, to get back to movies and acting and going on tour," she said. "It was a big part of that decision."

The actress and singer, who stars in "Parker" alongside Michael Chiklis and Jason Statham, shot the film during a rare break in her two seasons on "American Idol."

"I was like, 'Okay, I hope I did not forget how to act,'" she said. "Then when you get there and you've done your homework and you're ready and I was working, like I said, with Taylor Hackford. I didn't want to let him down."

Lopez's last thriller movie role was in 1998 when she starred alongside onetime "Sexiest Man Alive" George Clooney as a U.S. Marshal in "Out of Sight," a film that cemented her movie star status.

In "Parker," Lopez says her newest co-star, Statham, could give Clooney a run for his money in leading man status.

"He's up there because, you know, he has such a presence," she said. "I think he's just the best out there right now. There's just nobody out there who can really mess with him right now."

"His fan base is going to be so pleased with this movie because I feel like he's done amazing action movies, but this movie has a little bit, like I said, of that out of sight, you know, sexiness but at the same time this great drama and story going on," Lopez said of the film. It opens in theaters this Friday.