VAMPIRE DIARIES Actor Describes How His Farm Changed His Life
By Movieguide® Contributor
VAMPIRE DIARIES actor Ian Somerhalder says life on his farm gives him “balance.”
“It’s a lot of work,” he told Fox News. “[But] that’s how I grew up, right here in Louisiana. For me, it gives me a sense of balance.”
Somerhalder continued, “What people don’t realize is, a vast amount, a pretty large percentage of Americans, live that way. They respect and love that lifestyle.”
“While the very populated urban areas may not get it, they still benefit from it because they benefit from the quality products and produce that these people produce,” he concluded. “So there’s this amazing sort of flow of commerce and business and sort of like mutual respect that I love.”
Somerhalder lives on a farm with wife Nikki Reed and their children, a daughter, 7, and son, 17 months.
“Getting back into the rhythm of the earth and getting our kids outdoors in a world where we’re all living indoors, in front of screens and blue light everywhere, we need some red light,” Reed told E! News. “We need some sun, we need some fresh air.”
Somerhalder added, “We produce most of our own food. I live in my cowboy boots.”
READ MORE: WHY ACTOR IAN SOMERHALDER TRADED HOLLYWOOD FOR FARM LIFE
Somerhalder often talks about how much more “gratifying” farming is for him than his previous life as an actor.
“What my parents taught us very early is, if you look around, there is a balance in nature,” he told E! News. “If you give back as much or more than you take, then you will find an enormous bounty of health and happiness and success and all these things that people want and dream.”
The actor explained that farming is a learning process, as well as a community builder — “you find yourself living this really cool sharing, bartering system with your neighbors.”
“It’s just very cool,” Somerhalder continued. “It’s like the way it used to be done…and I’m not trying to sound like sort of incendiary or anything, but to me, it’s far more gratifying and feels way more elevated than being all fancy, which is fun too, but at the end of the day, this is where the rubber meets the road and it’s connective.”
READ MORE: 20-YEAR-OLD ACTRESS THRIVES ON HER FARM: ‘I LOVE IT’
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