'Sex and the City' star regrets being an actor, admits he picked the 'wrong thing to do with my life'
John Corbett has been an actor for over three decades, but the actor’s life is not for him.
The "Sex and the City" star spoke about his frustrations on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s "Fly on the Wall" podcast last week, saying he regrets his decision to become an actor.
"Look, I’m in the fourth quarter of the football game now, in life and in showbiz. It’s just a fact," Corbett said. "So I can reveal now I picked the f---ing wrong thing to do with my life."
"Since I was a kid, I hate[d] being told what to do by an authority figure. So, I picked something to do with my whole life for my fulfillment of my work life, which is, ‘Dude, stand here, say this, put this on, look this way, say it faster, cut your hair like this,’" he continued.
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Corbett gained acclaim for his work on shows like "Northern Exposure," "Sex and the City," and "The United States of Tara," but admits he feels limited creatively.
"And there’s not really, as an actor, in my position, which is always second, third banana in something… I’m not collaborating with the writers," he said, adding, "You feel like a puppet."
He continued, "Have you ever sat in a f---ing waiting room of a doctor’s office for like an hour and you’re going, ‘What the f---?’ For me, that’s what making a movie is like, because I’m not part of any creative process."
The 63-year-old fully acknowledged he sounds "ungrateful," but the lack of creative input into a lot of his work is what leaves him frustrated.
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"I’m just telling you, I made a lot of money. I live in a beautiful home. People come to me in every f---ing restaurant I go in. I’m a friend of the world," he said. "But as far as a fulfilling creative work life, I didn’t write one f---ing line. I didn’t write one joke to make people laugh. So it’s been unfulfilling on that level."
He continued, "You know, there were some good times here and there, but most of it’s sitting, waiting for them to f---ing knock on your door to go, ‘Hey, we need you to come back and say that thing again.’ And to me, man, it’s such a boring f---ing life."
"Anybody listening that’s never been on a movie set, if you ever came to visit one of us for two days, just two of those 14-hour days, you’d say, ‘I never want to be here ever again.’ [It’s] like watching paint dry," the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star added.
Corbett has dabbled in country music through the years, telling Billboard in 2006 ahead of his debut album, "It’s not like I learned to play the guitar last year and just started writing songs and thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna make a record now.'"
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But even that outlet didn’t help him, as he recalled on the podcast that the gaps between acting work leave him wanting more.
He said in 2022, "the phone never rang" with opportunities.
"For that whole year, how do I get my, besides playing guitar and piano at home, how do I express myself?" Corbett said.
The "Parenthood" star said ultimately he’s content to stay home with his longtime partner and wife, Bo Derek.
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"I’m just at that point in my life now where I like being at home with Bo and the dogs," he said.
Corbett and Derek have been together since 2002, and officially married in 2020, keeping the news private until the following year.
Corbett said that he’s not into traveling for films: "At this point in my life, I’m just gonna…if something seems really, really f---ing fun, I’ll say yes. But then I’ll get there two days later and say why the f--- did I say yes?’"
The "And Just Like That" star did have high praise for his co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, saying, "If I had to act the rest of my life with just one person, it would be her. There’s something about this girl …she’s the best."
"And I get to do it again apparently, because I did that reboot last year, and then right before the actors strike and the writers strike, they said, ‘Hey if we get picked up would you do it again?’ And I said, ‘Sure, I’ll come do some. I really haven’t heard anything since then."
Corbett may have been playing coy about his role in season three of the HBO series, as paparazzi photographs revealed him filming with Parker, presumably reprising his role as Aidan Shaw.
The premiere date for Season 3 of "And Just Like That" has yet to be announced, but the show is expected to return in 2025.