Annie Murphy Wanted to Be 'as Far Away from Alexis as Possible' After 'Schitt's Creek'

Annie Murphy is excited about her next act.

In a Tuesday interview with The Zoe Report, the 34-year-old Schitt's Creek alum revealed why she was desperate to separate herself from her breakout role of Alexis Rose after the Emmy-winning sitcom wrapped following six hit seasons.

Though the Pop TV dramedy concluded to great acclaim, Murphy said perusing pilots was anxiety-inducing, as it brought back difficult memories of struggling to find work in the past.

"I've started to sweat just thinking about how anxious it makes me. Even though I was coming off the huge and mind-bending success of Schitt's Creek, I still had the very vivid memory of my life before Schitt's Creek, when I wasn't getting any work at all," she told the Zoe Report.

Though she was offered a variety of opportunities during her latest pilot season, the Kevin Can F*** Himself star felt frustrated when executives wanted to cast her in roles reminiscent of the lovable, fallible Alexis.

"People didn't have the f------ time of day for me for such a long period of time, so it was a real 180, having that attention," Murphy said of the prospects. Despite the hype, something still felt off.

"It was very clear that people wanted to see me as Alexis, or they'd say, 'Oh, it's definitely not Alexis. She has brown hair this time," " she recalled. "It was really, really important to me to do something as far away from Alexis as possible, even as just a challenge for myself to see if I could do something else after doing one very specific thing and succeeding."

Finding a perfect fit on Kevin in the role of Allison McRoberts, a fed-up housewife struggling to get out of the life she accidentally created — and willing to take drastic action in order to start over — Murphy experienced a eureka moment.

"I don't need to live up to people's expectations," she told the Zoe Report of life after Schitt's Creek. "If it was an indie film, if it was a piece of theater, if it was voice work, whatever that was, for whatever the paycheck was, I just really, really wanted to do something for myself that was a challenge and that I had fun with, that was about something important to me."

Chatting with PEOPLE earlier this month, the actress said it was easy to step into the darker character and push herself creatively.

"This character was the most beautiful 180 from Alexis. She is very angry, frustrated, sad and unfashionable," Murphy said. "It just checked all the boxes for me and what I was looking for next."

Kevin Can F*** Himself premiered June 20 on AMC.