Zachary Levi calls California a ‘failed state’ that is ‘literally and figuratively on fire’ after Texas move
Zachary Levi isn't holding back about why he packed up and left his home state of California for Texas.
In 2017, the 45-year-old actor, who is starring in the upcoming action-thriller "The Fix," sold his home in Los Angeles and bought a ranch outside of Austin.
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital alongside his "The Fix" co-star Liam Neeson, Levi candidly opened up about why he left the Golden State.
"I grew up in California, I love California, it is a failed state," he said. "It is literally and figuratively on fire."
Along with his disillusionment with California, the "Chuck" star explained that his departure was rooted in a long-standing desire to rethink how the entertainment industry operates from the inside out.
"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," Levi said.
"And then not just a place to work," he continued. "People can live there and kids can go to school there and we have an organic farm and like all of the things that I think everybody really wants these days."
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"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," Levi added. "So that all culminated in nine years ago, me finding 75 acres outside of Austin, Texas to buy, to develop, to turn into this magical kind of idea. That's why I left."
Levi is fulfilling his vision by building Wyldwood Studios, a $100 million film and lifestyle campus on his 75-acre property in Bastrop County outside Austin.
Designed as a hybrid production hub and creative retreat, the multi-phase project pairs soundstages and production offices with residential housing and wellness spaces. Wyldwood is expected to open its first two soundstages in 2027.
Looking back on his decision to move, Levi explained that walking away from his life in California meant trading idyllic weather and close personal ties for a bigger mission.
"I 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 said.
"Fortunately, Austin's awesome. It's great, you know?" Levi continued. "It can get kinda hot in the summer and kinda cold in the wintertime, but I can deal with it."
"There's no thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing," he added.
"The Fix" marks a sharp departure for Levi, who is best known for starring in lighter projects like the action-comedy series "Chuck" and the superhero film franchise "Shazam!"
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Directed by Guy Moshe, the movie follows a group of war-torn, disgraced former CIA operatives, led by Tucker (Levi) and mentored by his long-time lead Larry (Neeson), who are left disillusioned in the chaotic wake of the 2021 U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
After a high-stakes mission goes disastrously wrong, the team embarks on a rogue, high-risk mission in Tehran. Seeking both a life-changing score and a chance at personal redemption, the group attempts to pull off a daring rescue operation while confronting their own past choices.
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While speaking with Fox News Digital, Levi explained that he was drawn to the project because he wanted to take on a different character type than those that he had previously played.
"I wanted to do something fun, gritty, darker, in comparison to other roles that I've played in the past, and this gave me that and then some, because there was all of the great spycraft and twists and turns and revelations throughout the story, as well as this human foundation," he said.
Levi continued, "'Who are these people in real life? Why are they doing the things that they're doing? What is this redemption that they are trying to seek?' The moral ambiguity of all of that, of like, who's really the good guy and who's the bad guy. I think these are really cool themes to explore. And I got to do them with the Liam Neeson."
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Neeson also explained why he joined the movie's cast, heaped praise on Levi along with Moshe, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mark Bacci.
"It is a terrific script," he said. "Really, really good, talented director and writer."
"He's a wonderful actor," Neeson added of Levi. "I'm not just saying that because he's here, but he is wonderful."
Along with Levi and Neeson, "The Fix" also stars Annet Mahendru, Grant Harvey, Augusto Aguilera, Elnaaz Norouzi and Wes Chatham.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Moshe explained that he believed from the outset that Levi was a natural fit for the project and wasn't surprised by how hard the actor pushed himself physically for the role.
"When I met him, I immediately asked myself, ‘How am I the first one to see what a great action star this guy can be?’ Like a 6'4, handsome, commanding, almost like old movie star type of kind of presence," Moshe said.
"But to me with Zach, the nice thing about him is which people, I think, don't know as much about him — he's a very much of an outdoors person," he continued. "He lives in Austin, Texas on the ranch. He likes rafting. He likes to be outside. He likes to hike. I mean, he's a very physical person in real life."
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"And he embraced it and was every bit a collaborator from day one," Moshe added. "So I wouldn't say surprised but rather validated, maybe is the word that I could use. Like I believed that this would be the case when I met him and he clearly exceeded my expectations even here."
Moshe told Fox News Digital that Levi brought a raw, real-world edge to the set that surprised even the filmmakers.
"Let's just say I found myself in the streets of Tbilisi in a fist fight with Zach and I throwing punches, with people in the middle of the street, which is maybe not something I should advertise," Moshe said. "But I don't know if people would expect that of him. But like he's quite a man's man in that capacity."
"He's done all these movies where it's like the four-quadrant family films, all that kind of stuff, whatever, but he's certainly, I think, a much more intense person in real life in certain ways that people might not be familiar with," the director added.
Norouzi also praised Levi during her interview with Fox News Digital. In "The Fix," the Iranian-born German actress plays Zara, a woman recruited to pose as the Persian wife of Tucker to help cover his cover story as a businessman while his team executes their high-stakes mission in Tehran.
During the course of the movie, Zara and Tucker develop an emotional and romantic relationship amid the surrounding danger.
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Norouzi told Fox News Digital that Levi is a "fantastic actor," adding, "And you do want to be opposite him as the leading lady."
The former "The Traitors" contestant went on to say that Levi was an "awesome" screen partner.
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"Honestly, he's one of those guys who just lets you be and lets you do," she said. "But whenever I would like — whenever he would feel like I need something from him in the scene to either understand the scene better or to get that chemistry, he would just give it to me."
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"And that kind of understanding and that kind chemistry is quite rare, I feel," Norouzi continued. "And me and Zach really had that and that really helped."
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"We had fun on set,"" she added. "It was really good."
"The Fix" premieres in theaters on Sept. 11.