Zachary Levi recently shared the impact of his vocal support of President Trump and his criticism of the Pfizer vaccine.
Speaking with Variety in an article that came out on Thursday, the Shazam actor revealed that fellow actors in Hollywood are now steering clear of working with him:
"I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know," Zachary Levi said. "They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate." He added, "I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually."
Zachary Levi says he took a calculated risk with his career when he voted for Trump: Read more
Zachary Levi made headlines in the past when, in response to a tweet asking if the Covid-19 vaccine posed "a real danger to the world," he replied in the affirmative:
“Hardcore agree.”
The following year, he declared his support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his bid for president, a contentious figure renowned for similar sentiments about COVID boosters. As reported by several outlets at the time, when Kennedy quit the presidential race and backed Trump instead, Levi was skeptical.
After a one-on-one with the current president, however, he began urging fans to back the mogul up. Not long after, the TV actor-turned-movie star began producing flops in Hollywood, including last year’s Harold and the Purple Crayon, prompting him to claim he hasn't been getting offers given his outspoken sentiments.
“I know it to be true because I’ve gotten messages from lots of people who I won’t name but who were very grateful to me for taking the stand that I took,” Zachary Levi said. “And also they would tell me, ‘I want to do that, but I’m so afraid.’ And I would tell them, ‘Listen, you’re on your journey. I’m on my journey. You’ve got to keep trusting God. And if you feel compelled to step out in that way, then do it boldly and know that you’re going to be OK. And if you don’t feel that conviction yet, then don’t. It’s all good.’”
Nonetheless, the actor is now setting out for his latest business venture, which entails launching his own Hollywood studio in Austin, Texas.
“AI is about to be the nail in the coffin,” he told the outlet. “And we wonder why L.A. has become the Detroit of the entertainment industry.”
The studio will be known as Wyldwood Studios, and during the interview, which was held in March, Zachary Levi was in the middle of trying to raise $40 million in capital for the $100 million full-service campus. Variety has reported that Levi is looking to construct a complex that boasts two 20,000-square-foot soundstages, two amphitheaters, a restaurant, and a boutique, among other things.
He has already purchased the 75-acre plot, which sits along the banks of the Colorado River.
“Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks and all those O.G.s knew it over 100 years ago. Hollywood was broken then, and we needed a better system,” he said. “This industry is crumbling around us. In order for us to survive, we need to have a space for artists that will foster certified organic human-made content.”
For the unversed, Zachary Levi is a devout nondenominational Christian. As reported by Indiwire, while he may have voted for Trump this past election, he was not always "a fan of Trump’s Trumpiness."
“I didn’t like a lot of these personal things, the ways that he carries himself a lot of the time. I understand people’s aversion,” he said. “Do I think the whole package is somehow perfect? No. In fact, most people who voted for Donald Trump recognize a lot of the imperfections in all of it. Nobody was saying, ‘This is the Orange Messiah.’”
During his interview with Variety, the Tangled star doubled down on his claims that some people on "that side of the political spectrum" have turned down the chance to work with him.
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