After growing up in North Dakota, the London Calling star—who shares son Axl, 12, with his ex-wife Fergie, as well as son Shepherd, 20 months, with wife Audra Mari—wanted to give his kids a chance to live outside of Hollywood’s spotlight, building a house in Minnesota nearly two decades ago.
“You know, 16, 17, years ago, when I built this place, it was weirdly me almost reliving my youth, in a way,” he told E! News’ Will Marfuggi at London Calling’s premiere on Sept. 15. “Because I grew up out in the woods in North Dakota, and for me to now be able to pass that on to my kids out there is great.” (For more with Josh, tune in tonight to E! News Sept. 16 at 11 p.m.)
And while he conceded Los Angeles is “fantastic,” Josh continued, “It’s also nice to get them out in the woods and get dirty and learn a few things that I learned growing up.”
Also nice? Stepping out with Audra to celebrate London Calling, which hits theaters Sept. 19. As Josh remarked of his wife of three years, “She looks so beautiful. She’s amazing.”
And he thinks London Calling—which follows hit man Tommy Ward (played by Josh) tasked with “manning” up his employer’s son Julian in exchange for safe passage across the pond to reconnect with his own son—promises a fun night out for all parents.
“This is just such a fun movie, it really is,” the Ransom Canyon star promised. “It’s like a throwback to the 90s, action-comedy, buddy cop movies—although neither one of us are cops or buddies.”
He added, “It’s one of those popcorn movies about a hit man who’s over the hill, doesn’t quite see or shoot like he used to, shoots the wrong person, ends up having to leave for Los Angeles from London, and the guy he works for—in exchange for me going back to London—makes me take his son out on a hit, and it goes horrible.”
But one thing that hasn’t gone horribly was his decision to leave LA full time, opting instead for the lakes and hills of Minnesota.
“We’re deep in the woods out there, so it is fun,” he gushed to People in August of his Minnesota residence. “There are bald eagles everywhere, there are otters swimming with their little babies all over the place.”
The Safe Haven star added, “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.”
And he isn’t the only star who’s said bye bye to LA. For more stars who chose to leave Hollywood’s hills, keep reading.
