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After starring in his latest action film London Calling, Josh Duhamel is reflecting back on his 25-year career in Hollywood. In a new interview with the New York Post, the star also revealed some details about his personal life off-screen, dishing about the rugged retreat he bought back around 2007 in the Midwest.
Josh Duhamel Calls Midwest Compound 'My Own Little Oasis'
“I knew I wanted to be out away from everything in the woods and build sort of my own little oasis, in a way. And it’s taken a long time,” Duhamel said of his Minnesota home. “It was a lot of pickaxes and shovels in the beginning. ... It was no electricity or water for a while. Then we dug wells. Then we built a sink in the kitchen, and we built a bathroom, and it became a little bit less rugged and a little bit more normalized, at least to what we’re used to.”
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The actor explained that the property was "40 miles from anything" and that preparation became key.
"I think that was what I weirdly fell in love with,” Duhamel explained. “It became about just the basics, hand-to-mouth, making sure that I could take care of everybody, and we had enough just to stay alive out there, especially in the winter. So that was the beginning. Now we’ve got all the amenities that we need. I still try to keep it a bit like it used to be, but it’s nice to have a warm shower and a toilet. We’re not using outhouses anymore, thank god."
Josh Duhamel Has Talked About Doomsday Prepping Before
This isn't the first time that the London Calling and Transformers actor has dished about his Midwest retreat. In 2023, he talked about doomsday prepping in an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. "You probably know I’m a bit of a doomsday prepper," Duhamel said in the interview, referencing the property's sauna and wells, "and I think water is gonna be something we’re all gonna be in desperate need [of] at some point. Hopefully not, but that could be the case."
Duhamel later added that he "acquired it for is a fraction of what I put into it. I spend a lot of my money out here. My business manager doesn’t love it. But I’m like, ‘You don’t get it, man.’ I’d rather buy tractors and attachments for my tractors than some Ferrari in Los Angeles."
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Duhamel also shared that the property is also a source of "joy" for the actor.
"This is where I get a lot of joy," Duhamel said at the time. "I think anytime you’re out in the woods or anywhere close to nature, it does something for your soul."
In a 2017 interview, Duhamel told us about living in the Midwest near his dad. "My father lives in Minnesota," he shared. "The place that I got is near his on the lake and out in the deep woods. There is nobody around for miles. I always come back with my spirit feeling lifted. I bought it about eight years ago. It was just half a parcel of land at first, which had an old cabin on it with no plumbing or electricity — straight-up old-fashioned outhouse, and it was time to shower in the lake. There is something special about going back to the basics, and having that solitude."
This story was originally reported by Men's Journal on Oct 2, 2025, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
[SRC] https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/why-josh-duhamel-no-regrets-194356693.html
