Armie Hammer says he has moved beyond his Hollywood exile, insisting he was mischaracterized in part while also admitting, “I made these problems for myself.” In a new interview, he describes a life reorganized around his children, co-parenting with Elizabeth
Armie Hammer remembers the start of the collapse in a way that doesn’t sound like a public-relations pivot. The 39-year-old “Call Me By Your Name” actor. speaking in a profile published June 16 in The Hollywood Reporter. described the emotional and mental state that preceded the scandal that derailed his career.
He said he denied allegations of psychological and sexual abuse and also disputed claims tied to leaked messages that referenced graphic sexual fantasies. including cannibalism. But when asked whether he wished he could go back and undo what led to his public downfall. Hammer’s answer was blunt: “No. honestly.”.
He told the outlet, “I remember the emotional state and the mental state I was in before all that happened. Healthy people don’t act the way I was acting. ” and said he would have wanted to handle it differently. “in a little bit more of a gentle way. But at the end of the day — you get what you get.”.
In a line that frames how he’s choosing to look at the wreckage, Hammer acknowledged the hardest part of the story is his own responsibility. “While the ‘Rebecca’ star said that leaked texts were largely taken out of context, he admits, ‘I made these problems for myself.’”
The actor said the controversy didn’t happen by accident and that he brought “very dangerous and unsafe people into my life. ” while also saying he “pissed off people” around him. “This didn’t happen to me by a fluke accident,” he said. “I didn’t do what people are saying I did. But I brought very dangerous and unsafe people into my life. and I pissed off people in my life — and here we are.”.
For Hammer, the message is as much about endurance as it is about blame. He compared his situation to Sisyphus, saying, “It’s like Sisyphus pushing the boulder, except my boulder is covered in Vaseline.”
When he’s asked what he’s doing now, the answer turns from confession to logistics. Hammer is returning to acting after German filmmaker Uwe Boll reached out to him in 2024 to offer him his first role in five years. Hammer said. “I’m pretty sure I cried. ” adding that the moment felt like permission to do what he loves: “I’m going to get to do the thing that I love more than anything — other than my children.” He said he would have taken any job. including “a cat food commercial. ” if it was the next step.
The interview also offers a portrait of how dramatically his career setup has changed. Hammer said he no longer has a manager, agents, or a personal publicist. He described the surprise on the first day of sets as a kind of constant reset: “Lately. they always say on the first day of set. ‘We can’t believe we actually got you to do this.’ And I’m like: ‘My schedule was pretty open.’”.
He said returning to Los Angeles feels different now. “I was back in a city that felt like it used to be my city. But it had moved on without me,” he added.
The daily rhythm. he said. is now shaped around his children. starting with practical moments: making breakfast. dropping them off. and picking them up from school. Hammer has an 11-year-old daughter, Harper, and a 9-year-old son, Ford, and he co-parents with his ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers. Chambers split with Hammer in 2020 following 10 years of marriage.
The allegations that sparked his fall are extensive and span multiple years. One of the women who spoke out was Courtney Vucekovich, who said she dated Hammer for a few months in 2020. In a January 2021 interview with the New York Post’s Page Six, Vucekovich said the actor manipulated and abused her. After they broke up. she said she entered a 30-day partial hospitalization program geared toward those suffering from PTSD and trauma. Vucekovich said. “He kind of captivates you. and while being charming. he’s grooming you for these things that are darker and heavier and consuming. When I say consuming, I mean mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, just everything,” she said.
Paige Lorenze. who said she had an allegedly abusive relationship with Hammer for four months in 2020. told Page Six she sought therapy to process the psychological effects of their relationship. “There were red flags throughout the relationship,” Lorenze said. “I guess I just put them to the side and he made me feel so confident at times.”.
Another accuser. identified only as Effie. alleged in March 2021 that Hammer raped and beat her over a four-hour period in Los Angeles in April 2017. Effie said in tears at a news conference alongside her lawyer Gloria Allred that she had been abused “mentally. emotionally and sexually.” Effie said that during the alleged attack Hammer “repeatedly slammed my head against a wall. bruising my face” and that he “also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent.”.
Hammer’s attorney. Andrew Brettler. issued a statement at the time denying all accounts of the alleged crimes and unconventional sexual practices. Brettler said Effie sent Hammer texts that refute her “outrageous allegations.” The statement said. “As recently as July 18. 2020. (Effie) sent graphic texts to Mr. Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do to her,” and added that “Mr. Hammer responded making it clear that he did not want to maintain that type of relationship with her.”.
The Los Angeles Police Department investigated allegations of rape but later closed the case without any charges.
In 2022, Discovery+ released a three-part docuseries titled “House of Hammer,” which addressed accounts from Vucekovich and Lorenze, along with the sister of Hammer’s dad, businessman Michael Hammer. The sister discussed the alleged history of abuse within her family.
Taken together. the story now sits at two edges: Hammer’s return to work on one side. and the allegations that have lingered in public memory on the other. In the interview. he described a future built through persistence—though he also said his public image isn’t clear and compared his efforts to pushing a boulder that’s harder to move than it should be.
What has changed most, he said, is the foundation of his life. From the end of his Hollywood climb to the present. his days are organized around his children and the careful. repeated routines of co-parenting with Elizabeth Chambers. The acting offer from Uwe Boll in 2024—his first role in five years—becomes the next chapter in a comeback that. for Hammer. is less about erasing what happened than trying to keep moving forward.
Armie Hammer Hollywood exile Uwe Boll Discovery+ House of Hammer Elizabeth Chambers Harper Hammer Ford Hammer allegations Page Six Gloria Allred Andrew Brettler