The ‘Vampire Diaries’ and ‘Lost’ alum has previously been candid about leaving Hollywood behind to pivot to a life of business and environmentalism
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Ian Somerhalder believes his acting days may be behind him — but, there’s one thing that might make him interested in returning to Hollywood.
Speaking exclusively with at the Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards Gala on Saturday, Oct. 26, the 45-year-old Lost alum opened up about leaving the entertainment industry behind when he and his wife Nikki Reed moved out of Los Angeles to pursue a life of farming.
“I think it’s in the rearview mirror. I do,” Somerhalder said of his acting career.
“Well, I dunno, we got the rights back for V Wars, but I just don’t know how the hell we would ever make a TV show,” he added, referring to the one-season Netflix sci-fi thriller he and Reed starred in several years ago. “We’re building three companies at the same time, raising kids.”
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Reed and Somerhalder tied the knot in 2015 and have since welcomed two kids, Bodhi, 7, and a baby boy, 1. The pair have been candid about their dedication to farming, healthy living and environmentalism, part of the reason they decided to attend the EMA Gala, which awards film and TV projects that increase public awareness of environmental issues.
Last year, the couple co-founded The Absorption Company — a tech-powered supplement brand available online and at Erewhon stores.
Twilight star Reed, 36, shared similar sentiments about a possible return to acting, telling PEOPLE at the Oct. 26 event: “I don’t make any definitive statements about anything. I don’t look at anything.”
“I work over 90 hours a week right now. I’m running a company full time and just launched another, a shared company with the Absorption Company,” she shared. “And I just can’t imagine being able to pivot my energy away, but there’s no door closed.”
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Somerhalder has previously been candid about his exit from entertainment, even doing so while speaking with PEOPLE in September in honor of the 15th anniversary of The Vampire Diaries and the 20th anniversary of Lost.
“August 19th makes five years since I was professionally on camera as an actor/producer,” he said at the time. “I stepped away from that after V Wars to build these companies, launch films like Kiss the Ground, Common Ground and Ground Swell and raise my kids.”
The retired actor recalled telling his management about wanting to make his exit from the business, telling them: “‘Hey, this is the only thing I’ve ever known that’s ever sustained my family, and I’m walking away from it,’ at this sort of peak, could have gone and done anything, but these partnerships mean way more to me.”
“I say this in all humility, in all respect, but I would much rather do this than go spend two months in some city, shooting a TV show away from my family or transporting my family back and forth,” he continued.
“Once you reach a certain level, you’re like, ‘Okay, I want to focus on family and the future of farming and food and energy and the big things,'” Somerhalder added. “I don’t need to chase awards and anything that would make me feel better about myself.”