'I thought I was a good person': Actor Adrian Grenier explains why he left 'shady' Hollywood for his own farm in Texas

Actor Adrian Grenier revealed that he left Hollywood for a life in his own farming community in Texas after years of a "hedonistic" lifestyle.

The former "Entourage" star sat down with Jordan Peterson for an honest conversation about his life as a self-indulgent actor that eventually led him astray.

Grenier explained that from the outset, he wasn't too keen on reaching a high level of fame early in his career.

"I could be a lot more famous than I am today, but I just I always rejected — there's something that I just didn't trust in Hollywood. I was always like, it seems shady, it seemed shady, and so I resisted," he told Peterson in the interview.

The actor achieved success early in his career, starring in movies like "Drive Me Crazy" and "The Devil Wears Prada" that earned him "a little bit of clout in Hollywood," but he mostly rejected a launch into stardom.

Grenier said that he was spending time in Mexico when his agent gave him an ultimatum: He needed to return to Hollywood or find new representation. That warning caused him to come back to the U.S. to audition for "Entourage."

This was essentially replicated in the television series and was one of many ways in which Grenier's real life was reflected in his character.

"It was more fun to blur the lines, because you start to acquiesce to people's wanting you to be the character," the actor told Peterson.

Grenier admitted that his wife had left him once before because of his lifestyle.

"I really just wanted pleasure, I was hedonistic, I was seeking the next hit," the 47-year-old explained. "I was open and poly, and liberal, and I thought I was a good person. I really did."

"She dumped me," he said of his now-wife, Jordan Roemmele. "In no uncertain terms [she] said, 'You are the worst.' She gave me a list; she was thorough. She was nice enough to give me a list. ... 'Take a look at how you're drinking, about how you're using sex, take take a look at all these things, see ya, lose my number.'"

Grenier recalled feeling like there had been a "glitch in the matrix."

"For a second I was like what, there was something off. How is it that this girl, she was young, here I am the the powerful, rich, famous person, who is justified in everything I'm doing because I also do charity, and she's leaving me?"

"I could give her everything, access, we could fly, we do everything. Go around the world, anything. And she's leaving me? That was weird, but I was like, 'All right, I'll find another girl, not a problem.' But it stayed with me and because I loved her and respected her so much."

A strikingly similar scenario played out in the final season of "Entourage." In the eighth season, Grenier's character, Vincent Chase, is enamored by a journalist who interviews him and writes an article critical of his sexual escapades and lack of serious relationships.

The character then goes to extraordinary lengths to prove to the woman that he is a good person. The two eventually leave to get married in the finale of the series.

In real life, Grenier said he spent a year and a half reconnecting with the future mother of his child.

The actor said he spent most of his time split between his native New York City and Hollywood but has given up both lifestyles to live on his own land near Austin, Texas.

Grenier said he spent approximately a year living in a 50-square-foot camper on a small piece of land and created a community garden.

"I was just digging in the soil and planting and digging and working, meditating, and cooking in an open fire. I grew a beard, and then the pandemic hit, and I was like 'perfect,' I'm already solo in isolation; it didn't affect me at all."

From that point, Grenier later reconnected with the woman he referred to as the love of his life and decided buy a large plot of land. A YouTube channel called Earth Speed is secondary to the work he has done on his plot.

Farming, cultivating, and otherwise tending to his vast property, Grenier has invited others to live on the land while he continues to learn about how to create a self-sustaining environment.

This story is similarly reflected in the movie "Goodbye World," where the characters are forced to live off the grid in the countryside after a terror attack leaves society in the dark.

"I'm certainly definitely still an apprentice of the land," Grenier remarked. He noted that farmers and growers are eager to pass down their knowledge and encourages anyone interested in the topics to take them up.

"I'm just trying to keep things alive and learning about the snakes and how to wrangle them, and not try and kill everything that scares me, but try and move against it and be brave in those moments, and fail and still keep at it."

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