Zachary Levi believes Texas offered him the kind of freedom and shared values that he no longer felt he had in his home state of California.
In 2017, the 45-year-old actor, who is starring in the new Western movie “Angel and the Badman,” left Los Angeles behind and moved to a ranch outside Austin.
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital alongside his “Angel and the Badman” co-stars, Neal McDonough and Meg Fraser, as well as the film’s director, Julio Quintana, Levi reflected on trading the Golden State for the Lone Star State, noting that the “great state of Texas” is a “much easier place to live than a lot of the other places that I have lived.”
‘FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’ STAR ADRIANNE PALICKI SAYS TEXAS GAVE HER SOMETHING HOLLYWOOD COULDN’T
“I love California. It’s a beautiful state,” he said. “Unfortunately, I think it’s got a lot of issues and I don’t see those going anywhere.”
“Whereas in Texas, I think that their values are more aligned with mine,” he continued. “I appreciate that I don’t have to pay state income tax and there’s liberty. There’s the liberty to go do what I want to go do, which is, like, go buy a bunch of land and build a movie studio.”
“You can be a crazy person and go do that,” Levi added. “If Walt Disney tried to go build Disneyland in California today, I don’t think it would ever get done, you know, so it gives me the freedom to go live the life that I believe that I’m meant to go live.”
Levi is currently building Wyldwood Studios, a $100 million film and lifestyle campus on his 75-acre property in Bastrop County outside Austin. Designed as a hybrid production hub and creative retreat, the multiphase project pairs soundstages and production offices with housing and wellness spaces. Wyldwood is expected to open its first two soundstages in 2027.
WATCH: ZACHARY LEVI SAYS TEXAS GAVE HIM THE FREEDOM HE COULDN’T FIND IN CALIFORNIA
The “Chuck” alum previously told Fox News Digital that the inspiration to build Wyldwood was rooted in his longstanding desire to rethink how the entertainment industry operates from the inside out.
“Ever since I started working in Hollywood and I saw how broken it all was, I felt very compelled by God to go build a better Hollywood — like a new United Artists kind of studio — where it’s owned and operated by the artists, where we can cut out all the middlemen, where we all can do really well, build a community,” Levi said.
“And then not just a place to work,” he continued. “People can live there, and kids can go to school there. And we have an organic farm, and, like, all of the things that I think everybody really wants these days.”
Levi’s latest project, “Angel and the Badman,” which was produced by Angel Studios, is a remake of the classic 1947 Western of the same name that starred John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey and Bruce Cabot.
The official plot synopsis for the remake reads, “When feared outlaw Quirt Evans staggers onto a rancher’s land with a bullet in his back, he expects a quick death, not mercy. But Penny, the rancher’s daughter, offers him a chance at something he’s never had: a life beyond violence. However, the past doesn’t forgive. With the marshal closing in and an outlaw gang ready to burn the ranch to the ground, Quirt must decide what kind of man he’ll be when the world demands blood.”
Levi stepped into Wayne’s original role as Quirt Evans (the Badman) while Fraser plays Penny (the Angel) and McDonough portrays the marshal. “Angel and the Badman” also stars Tommy Lee Jones as the outlaw gang leader Laredo.
WATCH: NEAL MCDONOUGH SAYS YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TO SEE ‘THE BAD GUY GETS WHAT HE DESERVES’
While speaking with Fox News Digital, McDonough explained how he believes “Angel and the Badman” conveys an important message for the young people of today.
“I think nowadays — with the temptation of social media and what we look at and what we hear and what we listen to — who do we look up to as heroes anymore?” he said. “Especially for the younger generation, it’s really hard for them.”
“The younger generation who don’t really know Westerns so well, to go to a film like ‘Angel and the Badman,’ you see, ‘OK, the bad guy gets what he deserves in the end,’” McDonough continued. “Where in modern day, the bad guy sometimes gets to go scot-free and that’s tough to really learn from as a kid. What do you learn from that as a young adult?”
“So films like this are important because it tells us, you should be trying to do the right thing,” he added. “You should redeem yourself and not do the dumb things that you used to do. Try to be a better person, try to give glory to Him, try and do the right thing for your family. I love doing films like these because they do exactly that, and thank goodness for Angel Studios.”
Quintana said he believed that the story’s redemptive themes feel especially relevant in a social media era when public mistakes can quickly become permanent scandals.
“In modern culture, in some ways, we actually have the inverse situation where it seems like we’re always — you make one public mistake, and it’s like your life is ruined,” he said. “Our media outlets thrive on downfall and self-destruction and things like that. And I think this is a good reminder that actually what’s really inspiring is people making mistakes and ultimately making the sacrifices to make amends and try to claw their way back up and try to be better, because we don’t really see the redemptive side of a public downfall. Nowadays, we only see the dark side.”
GET ENTERTAINMENT SCOOP DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE
McDonough shared that he personally resonates with redemptive storytelling after his past struggles with substance abuse issues. During a 2025 interview with Fox News Digital, the “Band of Brothers” star explained that he gave up alcohol in 2016 after realizing he had to make his life about serving God, “rather than serving me.” He also credited his wife of over 22 years, Ruvé, with giving him the motivation he needed to quit drinking as he recalled, “She grabbed me and says, it’s us or the bottle, you choose,” and he “never looked back.”
Reflecting on “Angel and the Badman’s” message of redemption, McDonough admitted, “I think that we all do things that we are not proud of at times.”
WATCH: ‘ANGEL AND THE BADMAN’ STAR ZACHARY LEVI SAYS REDEMPTION STORIES APPLY TO EVERYONE
“We all make mistakes,” he continued. “None of us are perfect. We all sin, we all do dumb things, but every once in a while, you get called out and something might happen to make you think, ‘Hmm, maybe I should be a better dad. Maybe I should be a better husband. Maybe I should be better coworker. I need to stop doing that thing.’”
“Years ago, I stopped drinking because it took me off my game, and it just wasn’t keeping me focused to do His work,” McDonough remembered. “And ever since then, I focused so hard on doing His work and giving glory to Him and everything that I do. So we all have to overcome these things and that’s redemption. And ‘Angel and the Badman,’ boy, you know, Quirt Evans has to go through that.”
“It’s that redemptive quality that Westerns have more than any other films,” he added. “They keep it simple. There’s a good guy, there’s a bad guy. Good guy’s gonna win, but he has to overcome something because the bad guy couldn’t. And that’s what we did in ‘Angel and the Badman.’”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Levi told Fox News Digital that he also believed that the movie’s message was universal.
PUT YOUR ENTERTAINMENT KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW YOU SCORE
“I love a good redemption story,” he said. “It’s one of the most classic stories that you can tell, and if you can tell it within a classic genre like a Western that has a little bit of all of these subcategories of action-adventure and romance and drama and comedy and heart and charm and all of those things woven into one beautifully shot and directed story — then you get to tell a story that I believe applies to everyone.”
“Because everyone knows deep down inside of them, they either have been redeemed or are in need of redemption,” Levi continued. “It’s a human story. It’s a human story. So those are the ones that I like to tell the most.”
