Many A-list actors go about their days with a security guard keeping a close eye on them at all times. Others have a full team of security specialists, and others hire ex SAS soldiers to keep them safe. However, some actors treat filmmaking purely as a job and actively choose to strip away the insulating layer of Hollywood luxury.
They swerve the assistants, and personal security drivers to live an unshielded, pedestrian life. You’ve likely seen the paparazzi shots; A-list actors strolling around like everyday citizens. And believe it or not, there’s more of them than you’d expect. So, here are five A-list actors who refuse to let their career rob them of a normal life.
5. Vincent Kartheiser
While you might know him as the slippery, high-society ad man Pete Campbell on Mad Men, Vincent Kartheiser‘s real life is the absolute antithesis of his character’s luxury lifestyle. The actor is actually known for leading a surprisingly minimalist lifestyle. During the height of Mad Men‘s massive success, Kartheiser famously gave up his car entirely while living in Los Angeles – a city notorious for being impossible to navigate without one. He deliberately chose to rely on the LA bus and Metro rail system to get to set every day. He also sold off most of his material possessions to live in a modest 580-square-foot cabin, stating that he preferred a simple, walkable life over managing the stresses of luxury ownership.
4. Tina Fey
The 30 Rock creator and SNL writer is an absolute powerhouse in comedy, with 10 Primetime Emmy wins to show for it. However, you’d never guess she was a megastar; her day-to-day life is firmly rooted in the typical routine of an average New Yorker. Tina Fey admitted on Jerry Seinfeld‘s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee that she let her driver’s license expire years ago and simply doesn’t drive anymore. Instead of a chauffeured SUV, she got around Manhattan entirely on foot or by public transit. Although she eventually bought her first car during the pandemic in 2020, paparazzi and fans still frequently spot her walking her kids to school, carrying groceries, or waiting on the subway platform.
3. Daniel Day-Lewis
Despite being a three-time Best Actor Oscar winner and widely considered as thespian royalty, Daniel Day-Lewis has a famous obsession with completely vanishing into normal life. When he isn’t acting, he lives a remarkably analog, pedestrian existence. He is frequently spotted riding the New York City subway entirely unbothered. He went viral when a commuter snapped a photo of him sitting casually on the train using an old-school, early-2000s Motorola flip phone. For such a legendary actor, his portfolio is quite small as he famously takes massive hiatuses between films to live a quiet life in rural Ireland or Italy. During one of his longest breaks, he moved to Florence just to work as an apprentice shoe-cobbler, walking to work every day.
2. Ricky Gervais
When most Americans think of Ricky Gervais, they likely think of the cocksure Brit who doesn’t hold back from absolutely tearing apart Hollywood’s biggest stars. However, he has worked with a fair few of them in some big movies. This means he is recognisable pretty much anywhere in the world. But he doesn’t let it stop him from living an ordinary life. He is often spotted wandering around New York with his partner when visiting his second home.
Back in the UK, Gervais allows himself to relax even further. He famously never learned to drive. So, instead of navigating London in a chauffeured vehicle, he prefers to get around entirely on his own two feet. Locals in North London frequently spot him out on daily, sweaty jogs through public parks dressed in completely ordinary gym gear, looking like anyone else trying to hit their step goal. Also, his deep, public love for animals isn’t just an internet bit. He spends a massive chunk of his free time at Hampstead Heath, a massive, ancient London park. He is frequently spotted wandering the park to pet strangers’ dogs because his hectic filming schedule prevents him from having one of his own.
1. Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves has built the delightful reputation as the nicest man in Hollywood, and a great deal of this comes from his pleasant interactions with the public. He might play a legendary, unstoppable killer on screen, but in real life, Reeves is famous for being the absolute antipode of a pampered Hollywood elite. He has a massive net worth but deliberately chooses an unpretentious, highly visible public lifestyle.
Despite having more than enough money to travel via private helicopter or a fleet of black SUVs, Keanu is regularly photographed riding the New York City subway like an ordinary commuter. But he doesn’t just ride public transport; he actively engages in proper commuter etiquette. He famously went viral when a fellow passenger filmed him immediately standing up and offering his seat to a woman carrying a heavy bag. When a commercial flight he was on had to make an emergency landing, rather than booking a private ride, he helped organize a public charter bus for his fellow stranded passengers, chatting and playing music for them along the way.
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