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USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Zachary Levi says certain actors 'prefer not to work' with him after Trump support
Zachary Levi says certain actors 'prefer not to work' with him after Trump support Show Caption Hide Caption Zachary Levi opens up about therapy, role in 'The Unbreakable Boy' Zachary Levi opens up to USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about his mental health journey and how it informed his role in "The Unbreakable Boy." Zachary Levi is speaking out about how his conservative beliefs have impacted his work in Hollywood. The "Shazam!" star opened up in a Variety story published May 22 about the aftermath of voting for President Donald Trump and his vocal vaccine skepticism. "I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions," Levi said. "My team has let me know. 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. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually." But still, he says some in the film industry are supportive of his views. Zachary Levi doesn't apologize for political stance: 'I am still fighting for all of us' "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," Levi said. "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," Levi said. "It's all good." Zachary Levi praises left-leaning 'Shazam!' co-star Rachel Zegler The "Chuck" actor is building a $100 million studio in Austin, as his own creative space outside of Hollywood. He said that "AI is about to be the nail in the coffin, and we wonder why LA has become the Detroit of the entertainment industry." Variety said the campus for his Wyldwood Studios will include two 20,000-square-foot amphitheaters, a boutique hotel, cabins and a farm-to-table restaurant on 75 acres along the Colorado River banks. Levi added that "this industry is crumbling around us" and "in order for us to survive, we need to have a space for artists that will foster certified organic human-made content." Rachel Zegler addresses backlash to controversial 'Snow White' comments: 'It made me sad' The "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" actor also spoke out about his fellow controversial co-star Rachel Zegler. Zegler wrote, "May Trump supporters … never know peace" on Instagram after Trump won the 2024 election. Despite their political differences, Levi still praised Zegler during the Variety interview, even though he is "one of those people, obviously." "I think that we have got to recognize that a lot of times people's decisions are predicated upon the bad information that they're being fed on a regular basis," the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" alum added. "So should I hate her because she's downstream of all of these voices that are telling her that he's Hitler and the people who vote for him are Nazis? She's a really talented girl, and I do think that she wants the best for the world deep down." Zachary Levi shares what he's 'not a fan of' about Donald Trump While Levi voted for Trump, he said, "I was not 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," Levi told Variety. "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.'" Khloé Kardashian, Zachary Levi blast California leadership over Los Angeles fires He holds some conservative views, but Levi said he still boasts a liberal streak. "I have conservative views, and I have more liberal views. And one of my more liberal views is that particularly growing up in the arts, I've had gay friends my entire life, and I've never, even within my spirituality, seen it as this thing that we need to be fearful of or scorn or bully or anything," Levi said. "I love my gay friends, my gay community." "Jesus wouldn't bully somebody online or otherwise because they're gay," the actor continued.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump-voting movie star Zachary Levi defends Trump-hating ‘Snow White' star Rachel Zegler from backlash
"Shazam!" actor Zachary Levi is giving "Snow White" star Rachel Zegler the benefit of the doubt despite her infamous social media post wishing for Trump voters to "never know peace." In a new interview with Variety, Levi defended Zegler from the backlash she received for her outspoken liberal views, including her remarks about supporters of President Donald Trump following the 2024 election. Levi and Zegler co-starred in "Shazam! Fury of The Gods" in 2023. "But I think that we have got to recognize that a lot of times people's decisions are predicated upon the bad information that they're being fed on a regular basis," Levi said. Actor Zachary Levi Encourages 'Closeted Conservatives' In Hollywood To Speak Out: 'It's Now Or Never' Zegler has been at the center of a public firestorm over the past few years, after making several political and controversial statements throughout the production of Disney's recent live-action "Snow White" remake. In one instance, Zegler criticized the original animated "Snow White" for its more traditional values. She called to "Free Palestine" while promoting the film's trailer, which ignited backlash for her and Disney. After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, she condemned his voters. Read On The Fox News App "May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace," she posted on social media shortly after the Trump's victory, adding "F--- Donald Trump." She later apologized for her comment. Zegler's outspokenness was seen as a major factor that contributed to the remake of "Snow White"'s dismal box office performance earlier this year. 'Snow White' Reboot Star Responds To Backlash Over Her Comments Criticizing Original 1937 Film: 'Made Me Sad' Despite Zegler's comments about Trump voters, Levi told Variety he didn't hold them against her. "So should I hate her because she's downstream of all of these voices that are telling her that he's Hitler and the people who vote for him are Nazis? She's a really talented girl, and I do think that she wants the best for the world deep down," he said. Variety also detailed how Levi's political coming out was hard for many of his Hollywood friends to accept. He created controversy in Hollywood with his public skepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine, and generated further outrage by becoming an RFK Jr. supporter, and ultimately a Trump supporter, after Kennedy threw his support behind the GOP nominee. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture The outlet spoke to Robert Duncan McNeill, Levi's friend, who directed him on twenty episodes of the TV show "Chuck." Although they're still friends, McNeill said it has been tough to overlook Levi's views. "I love Zach dearly, but I don't want in any way for our friendship and my feelings about him as a human to be an endorsement of his politics because I vehemently disagree with them," McNeill said. "But he's an unusual friend in my life. He sometimes can be more of a bleeding-heart liberal than I am, which shocks me. Zach walks the walk in a lot of ways better than me." On the other hand, Levi's Broadway co-star Laura Bananti wants nothing to do with him after he suggested the death of a fellow castmate was exacerbated by the COVID vaccine. Variety recalled how after Levi made the suggestion, she said on a podcast, "I never liked him. Everyone was like, 'He's so great!' And I was like, 'No, he's not. He's sucking up all the f---ing energy in this room. He wants to mansplain everybody's part to them.'" She added, "He really sucked everybody in with his dance party energy, like, 'We're doing a dance party at half-hour.' I was like, 'Good luck, have fun.'"Original article source: Trump-voting movie star Zachary Levi defends Trump-hating 'Snow White' star Rachel Zegler from backlash
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Zachary Levi doesn't apologize for political stance: 'I am still fighting for all of us'
NEW YORK − In his new film "The Unbreakable Boy," Zachary Levi plays a husband and father of two dealing with life: addiction, marital problems and a child with a rare disease. In real life, the actor and his partner Maggie Keating are expecting their first child together this spring. "I like to cram for an exam," Levi, 44, tells USA TODAY of his preparation, or perhaps lack thereof, for fatherhood. "I don't anticipate it being something that I'm not going to be able to pick right up. I try to see the child in every single human being. I particularly love kids because they're the best of us.""The Unbreakable Boy" (in theaters Friday) is based on the true story of Scott LeRette (played by Levi in the film). LeRette and his wife Teresa (Meghann Fahy) became pregnant with their first son, Austin (Jacob Laval), after only a handful of dates. To complicate matters, both Teresa and Austin have osteogenesis imperfecta, aka brittle bone disease. Later, Austin is diagnosed with autism. The couple also welcomes a second son, Logan (Gavin Warren). The story revolves around Austin and his journey as a child with autism, Levi says. "But around that is family: navigating marriage, navigating being a parent, navigating being the parent of a child with autism, loving oneself. Just the human condition." The movie is about "radically accepting the life that you've been given," Levi says. "And when you can surrender to that, the love and the peace and the joy that can flow through (you)." For Levi's character, this meant accepting that he was coping with alcohol. In real life, the actor suffered "a complete mental breakdown and went to lifesaving therapy" in 2017. He detailed the journey in his 2022 memoir, "Radical Love." Levi reveals that for the role, particularly one "come to Jesus" scene with his onscreen parents (Patricia Heaton and Todd Terry), he tried to access the feelings he had of "how hard it was to forgive myself." "Where is the fault of it? How far back in generational trauma do you want to go?" he asks hypothetically. "Everyone's doing the best they can with the tools and information they have at that time." Levi is best known for his title roles on TV's "Chuck" and the "Shazam!" movies. With the DC Universe set to be rebooted by director James Gunn, Levi is unsure of if or where Billy Batson's alter ego will fit in. "To get to be my own superhero and wear the Spandex and play such a fun superhero with that element of being a kid inside of an adult ... all of that was so dreamy," Levi recalls. "And that we got to do it twice, twice as dreamy. If I never get to play the role again, then I will be very content with my run. But (reprising) it would be super-fun. "Hollywood is in a weird place right now. We got nailed by the pandemic. We got nailed by these strikes. I'm just focusing on the things that are coming my way, and hoping to honor those roles." Politics is a subject that Levi doesn't shy away from. In 2016, he asked his Twitter followers to not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, claiming "neither actually cares about anything but power." In 2024, the actor supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy. When Kennedy dropped out and backed Trump, Levi followed, despite potential career repercussions. During an interview on "The Rubin Report," Levi said his agents cautioned "there will be complications" from his political stance but that they would stand by the actor. To his knowledge, Levi says, there has been no blowback. "I've tried to maintain at all times that while I may have a difference of opinion, I am still fighting for all of us," he says. Levi endorsed Trump at a 'Team Trump's Reclaim America Tour' event in Michigan last September. The actor moderated a conversation at the rally with Kennedy and former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Both now serve in Trump's cabinet. "I have no intention of wanting to divide anything any further," he says. "Part of the problem is that a lot of people are on different ends of a spectrum and they think, 'Because you're on the other end of the spectrum, you don't want what I want.' The reality is we all kind of want the same thing. We all just think there's a different way of getting there." Would Levi ever enter the political arena himself? "It's been very strange the amount of people that have been reaching out to me" and encouraging him to run for office, he says. "I've told all of them, 'That's not on my bingo card but I am open to whatever God's got in store for my life.' "That's got to be God blowing that door wide open and throwing me through it. Because (politics is) a whole other world of wacko. Hollywood is wacko. But you know, D.C. is a whole other level of that." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zachary Levi isn't running for political office, 'but I am open'
USA Today
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Zachary Levi doesn't apologize for political stance: 'I am still fighting for all of us'
Zachary Levi doesn't apologize for political stance: 'I am still fighting for all of us' Show Caption Hide Caption Zachary Levi opens up about therapy, role in 'The Unbreakable Boy' Zachary Levi opens up to USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about his mental health journey and how it informed his role in "The Unbreakable Boy." NEW YORK − In his new film "The Unbreakable Boy," Zachary Levi plays a husband and father of two dealing with life: addiction, marital problems and a child with a rare disease. In real life, the actor and his partner Maggie Keating are expecting their first child together this spring. "I like to cram for an exam," Levi, 44, tells USA TODAY of his preparation, or perhaps lack thereof, for fatherhood. "I don't anticipate it being something that I'm not going to be able to pick right up. I try to see the child in every single human being. I particularly love kids because they're the best of us." Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox. "The Unbreakable Boy" (in theaters Friday) is based on the true story of Scott LeRette (played by Levi in the film). LeRette and his wife Teresa (Meghann Fahy) became pregnant with their first son, Austin (Jacob Laval), after only a handful of dates. To complicate matters, both Teresa and Austin have osteogenesis imperfecta, aka brittle bone disease. Later, Austin is diagnosed with autism. The couple also welcomes a second son, Logan (Gavin Warren). The story revolves around Austin and his journey as a child with autism, Levi says. "But around that is family: navigating marriage, navigating being a parent, navigating being the parent of a child with autism, loving oneself. Just the human condition." The movie is about "radically accepting the life that you've been given," Levi says. "And when you can surrender to that, the love and the peace and the joy that can flow through (you)." For Levi's character, this meant accepting that he was coping with alcohol. In real life, the actor suffered "a complete mental breakdown and went to lifesaving therapy" in 2017. He detailed the journey in his 2022 memoir, "Radical Love." Levi reveals that for the role, particularly one "come to Jesus" scene with his onscreen parents (Patricia Heaton and Todd Terry), he tried to access the feelings he had of "how hard it was to forgive myself." "Where is the fault of it? How far back in generational trauma do you want to go?" he asks hypothetically. "Everyone's doing the best they can with the tools and information they have at that time." Zachary Levi is thankful for 'dreamy' 'Shazam!' but unsure of his superhero future Levi is best known for his title roles on TV's "Chuck" and the "Shazam!" movies. With the DC Universe set to be rebooted by director James Gunn, Levi is unsure of if or where Billy Batson's alter ego will fit in. "To get to be my own superhero and wear the Spandex and play such a fun superhero with that element of being a kid inside of an adult ... all of that was so dreamy," Levi recalls. "And that we got to do it twice, twice as dreamy. If I never get to play the role again, then I will be very content with my run. But (reprising) it would be super-fun. "Hollywood is in a weird place right now. We got nailed by the pandemic. We got nailed by these strikes. I'm just focusing on the things that are coming my way, and hoping to honor those roles." Has Zachary Levi's career been hurt by his political views? Politics is a subject that Levi doesn't shy away from. In 2016, he asked his Twitter followers to not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, claiming "neither actually cares about anything but power." In 2024, the actor supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy. When Kennedy dropped out and backed Trump, Levi followed, despite potential career repercussions. During an interview on "The Rubin Report," Levi said his agents cautioned "there will be complications" from his political stance but that they would stand by the actor. To his knowledge, Levi says, there has been no blowback. "I've tried to maintain at all times that while I may have a difference of opinion, I am still fighting for all of us," he says. Levi endorsed Trump at a 'Team Trump's Reclaim America Tour' event in Michigan last September. The actor moderated a conversation at the rally with Kennedy and former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Both now serve in Trump's cabinet. "I have no intention of wanting to divide anything any further," he says. "Part of the problem is that a lot of people are on different ends of a spectrum and they think, 'Because you're on the other end of the spectrum, you don't want what I want.' The reality is we all kind of want the same thing. We all just think there's a different way of getting there." Would Levi ever enter the political arena himself? "It's been very strange the amount of people that have been reaching out to me" and encouraging him to run for office, he says. "I've told all of them, 'That's not on my bingo card but I am open to whatever God's got in store for my life.' "That's got to be God blowing that door wide open and throwing me through it. Because (politics is) a whole other world of wacko. Hollywood is wacko. But you know, D.C. is a whole other level of that."
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Zachary Levi calls out corruption in politics, demands we hold leaders accountable
Zachary Levi is calling out all sides. When asked about his thoughts on California's leadership during the LA Fires, "The Unbreakable Boy" star, who is a longtime Los Angeles resident, told Fox News Digital that "integrity" makes a good leader, whether a Democrat or Republican, and "corruption" does not know a party. "I just think at the end of the day, whether it's in California or anywhere else in the world, I think that what makes a good leader is integrity," he explained to Fox News Digital. "I think that, you know, politics is an unfortunate place that a lot of seemingly otherwise good people might find themselves. But there is so much just corruption in all of it." He added that people need to put "all of our swords down, stop fighting each other and hold our leadership accountable because they are public servants at the end of the day." Zachary Levi Blames 'Incredibly Poor' Leadership For La Wildfires, Suggests 'Criminal Negligence' At Play WATCH: Zachary Levi says great leadership requires 'integrity' in light of recent LA wildfires Read On The Fox News App While speaking about his new faith-based film, "The Unbreakable Boy," the 44-year-old also told Fox News Digital that he learned to deal with adversity through prayer as well as leaning on his family and friends. "We're always looking for an answer outside of ourselves when the reality is God is the place that we ought to be turning instead of that," he said, adding that he would be "remiss" if he did not admit that he has turned to alcohol occasionally when dealing with something difficult. WATCH: Zachary Levi calls for California leadership to be 'held responsible' amid ongoing wildfires "I mean, self-medication is something I think that a lot of us struggle with, right?" he added. In "The Unbreakable Boy," Levi plays a father who finds faith while dealing with his son's autism and brittle bone disease diagnosis. "I think that's one of the beautiful parts of this story, is that Scott is not somebody of faith to begin with," Levi explained. "He's somebody who thinks that, 'No, I've got this. I'm in control.' He's got this kind of idealized idea of what his life is supposed to be, the expectations of what his life is supposed to be. And he's just brought to his knees in all of that because that's not how life goes." Levi added, "We don't get to control every aspect of our life." Like What You're Reading? Click Here For More Entertainment News In real life, Levi is expecting his first child with girlfriend Maggie Keating. The "Shazam!" star announced the news on Instagram in December, saying he had started prioritizing his health because he knew some things needed to "shift" before he was ready to think about having a baby. He said once he made some priority shifts in his life, "very quickly God brought a brilliant, honest, grounded, and deep love into my life thru the angelic form of" Keating, adding that he is "stoked out of my mind" for the baby. WATCH: 'The Unbreakable Boy' star Jacob Laval says Zachary Levi was great to work with as onscreen dad Levi told Fox News Digital that what drew him to "The Unbreakable Boy" was that it "wasn't just some squeaky clean, feel good movie." "This is something that leaves audiences with a lot of hope and a lot of love and a lot of acceptance of the journey that we're all on, but we had to go through the darkness and the depths in order to get there," he explained. Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter "So, for me personally, in my life, prayer is a big part of that. Leaning on my family, leaning on my friends, you know, these are all aspects of trying to get back to what is most important and recognizing that radical acceptance, like truly radically accepting where God has you, what is in your life, and seeing the miracles in that, seeing the blessings in that," he said. He added that hardships can actually be blessings, which he says is exemplified in his character's onscreen relationship with the actor who plays his son. He said while no one would wish for their child to have medical issues, he hopes that the movie shows people there is a "silver lining" and that "there's something that's still beautiful in all of that." WATCH: Zachary Levi gets through tough situations through prayer, leaning on family and friends "And the character that Austin represents, the optimism, the boundless optimism, the love, the acceptance even of the bullies that are, you know, treating him poorly in school, that he sees their heart, that he sees that they are sad. It's one of the most powerful moments in the movie. So, yeah, all of that," he article source: Zachary Levi calls out corruption in politics, demands we hold leaders accountable
