Josh Duhamel has opened up about his decision to leave the bright lights of Los Angeles behind for a quieter life in the Minnesotan woods.
The actor, 52, known for his roles in the Transformers film series and the popular TV show Las Vegas – among others – has revealed that while he loved the high life of movie-making he felt a “calling” to take a step away from it all.
“I make movies and TV shows, and I love it, I truly do love it, but I had this calling to go and really do things with my hands again – fix things, make things and just do the basic things that we take for granted,” he said in an interview with People.
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“I’m really more of a guy who wants to stay true to my roots, get back to the basics, hone whatever basic skills I need in this world of massive technology, to do the basic things to provide for my family,” he continued.
Duhamel lives on a remote lakeside property that he bought 15 years ago and built a rustic cabin on. For years the property – which he has referred to in the past as his “doomsday cabin” – was completely off-grid with no electricity or plumbing.
“We were basically homesteading the first 12 years. For the longest time we didn’t have plumbing. We were using outhouses and washing the dishes in the lake,” Josh explained in an interview with Country Living earlier this year.
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The actor says this pared-back lifestyle among nature is calming for him.
“We’re about 40 minutes from civilisation,” he explained. “It’s an exhale whenever we get here.” Country Living earlier this year.
Duhamel lives on the property with his family, which includes his wife Audra Mari, their 18-month old son Shepherd and his eldest son Axl who he shares with his ex Fergie.
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It’s the simple life in the woods with his family that the Transformers actor appreciates the most.
”We get so accustomed to all these luxuries and these amenities that we have … and I think that’s what this is for me – it’s an opportunity to get back to the basics and really enjoy the simple things in life, and that’s family, that’s friends, that’s making memories,” he told People.
“We’re deep in the woods out there, so it is fun. There are bald eagles everywhere, there are otters swimming with their little babies all over the place.”
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