There have been a slew of celebrities who have exited Hollywood in recent years in search of different lifestyles. For Mark Wahlberg’s family, Las Vegas offered a slew of activities outside of the limelight. For Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves, the Malibu paparazzi led them to seek refuge in Texas. Chris Hemsworth wanted projects to come to him in Australia rather than the other way around. And Ian Somerhalder and his fellow former vampire wife Nikki Reed just left Los Angeles for a bit of land of their own. The question is: Does The Vampire Diaries see a return to the TV schedule in his future?
Both Somerhalder and Reed appeared on the red carpet recently for Common Ground, a documentary about agriculture processes and improving our world that also features other stars like Jason Momoa, Donald Glover, Laura Dern and even Woody Harrelson. The two are able to speak confidently in the documentary after moving miles away from Los Angeles to farmland where they grow some of their own food and crops, including cucumbers, rosemary and lavender. But does the former CW star miss any of the trappings of Hollywood? He told E!:
I love what I did for a really long time. I don’t miss any of it. I loved making films; I just did it for so long. We [him and Nikki Reed] had an amazing run. [I miss] the community, the family that is a set. But this is our 2.0 version, about to be 3.0 version.
I’m not sure if that “3.0 version” comment had to do with the life they are building or another sort of plan for the future. The parents of two declined to elaborate further on what the comment meant–-though it’s clear acting won’t be involved.
He and wife Nikki Reed spent the majority of the interview talking about sustainability and the things they enjoy getting to watch their children grow up in the natural world. Reed’s been pretty open about cutting Somerhalder’s hair for him and being more homebodies in the past, as well. They are living off the land more and more as time passes, and it seems they don't really miss their Hollywood past.
Reed went on to say she wishes they had “more time,” however, given they are currently running multiple businesses, including a bourbon brand Somerhalder runs with TVD co-star Paul Wesley. So, it sounds like even if there was a desire to act again, they might not have the bandwidth. Both actors stopped acting a little over four years ago, after appearing in V-Wars together.
Along with occasionally having his name bandied about to play certain Marvel characters, recently, there have been rumblings from the A Court of Thorns And Roses franchise that Ian Somerhalder would make the perfect Rhysand – or at least he would have during his TVD era. Now that he’s 45, he doesn’t really fit the twenties-ish description the High Fae are supposed to resemble (despite being hundreds of years old).
Not that Somerhalder has aged out of Hollywood in general. I’m sure there are plenty of roles out there for the seemingly retired actor should he ever want to get back in the game. But given he doesn't "miss" any of it, that doesn't sound like it will be the path for the TVD star's future.
