Zachary Levi calls California a ‘failed state’ that is ‘literally and figuratively on fire’ after Texas move
Zachary Levi called California a “failed state” that was “literally and figuratively on fire,” using a joint interview with Liam Neeson to explain why he left Los Angeles for a ranch outside Austin. ‘
Speaking to Fox News Digital, he said, “I grew up in California. I love California,” before adding, “It is a failed state. It is literally and figuratively on fire.”
The Chuck alum spoke to the outlet ahead of the release of the action thriller The Fix, which arrived in theaters on September 11.
The reason behind Zachary Levi’s move
The actor went on to talk about his gradual separation from the state. “Ever since I started working in Hollywood and I saw how broken it all was, I felt very compelled by God to go build a better Hollywood — like a new United Artists kind of studio — where it’s owned and operated by the artists, where we can cut out all the middlemen, where we all can do really well, build a community,” he stated.
He then added, “We look at the regular world around us, and we see it burning. And we’re like, ‘Can we do this better? I feel like we can do this better.’” According to Levi, that mindset led him nine years earlier to a specific plot of land outside Austin that he decided to buy and build on.
The ranch that became a business plan
Levi described the property, saying he found “75 acres outside of Austin, Texas, to buy, to develop, to turn into this magical kind of idea.” That land has since become the site of Wyldwood Studios, a production and lifestyle campus Levi has been developing in Bastrop County.
Wyldwood Studios carries an estimated price tag of $100 million and plans for the site include two 20,000-square-foot soundstages, a pair of amphitheaters, a boutique hotel, cabins and a farm-to-table restaurant.
What he says he gave up to build it
Levi also acknowledged that the move came with a personal cost. He told the outlet that he left behind “a lot of community and family and perfect weather in Southern California.”
“But when you weigh it all out — and you must — you have to come to these points in your life, and you go, ‘Is all of that really worth the thing that I know I’m supposed to go build in the future to make a better world?’ And, to me, that calling on my life was more important,” he added.
He also compared the climate between the two states, saying Austin “can get kinda hot in the summer and kinda cold in the wintertime, but I can deal with it,” adding that there is “no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.”
Levi’s history with Hollywood and politics
Levi’s relationship with the entertainment industry has been unsettled for several years. He drew backlash in 2023 after commenting on COVID-19 vaccines online.
He told Variety that his own representatives at UTA had informed him that some people in the industry preferred not to work with him because of his opinions. He has also spoken publicly about supporting Donald Trump, drawing backlash from several of his costars.