John Cusack shares why he stepped away from Hollywood after decades of blockbusters
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Katie Jones/Variety via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
John Cusack has opened up about why he’s taken a step back from Hollywood, despite being a Golden Globes-nominated actor.
The 60-year-old has revealed his thoughts on the environment he was in, and why he has chosen to go on a different path, with a new career move that's both exciting and full of potential.
During an interview with Variety at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 24, the actor revealed his love of graphic novels, and his very own project that was independently created, titled 'Momo'.
He explained that he wanted to create something on his own terms, without big wigs weighing in on what needs to happen.
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Essentially, he wanted fully autonomy of his craft – and he got it.
He revealed that he began writing after largely stepping away from acting gigs because he 'didn’t [want to] negotiate telling a story.'
Momo is set to be released Sept. 29, which explores the story of two fugitives in 1972 attempting to procure an ancient artefact for TV star Jackie Gleason.
Cusack revealed: “I always thought [graphic novels] were the closest things to film, really. You’re picking out shots, they’re so cinematic.”
He added: “When you ask somebody to put $20 million or $30 million into a bank account [for a film], they want to have an opinion and they’re afraid and all that stuff.”
His Momo book has seen him collaborate with illustrator Ignacio Noé, who he calls 'beautiful'.
“This was just like, I wrote it, and I said, ‘I like the story,’ and then I got this beautiful, wonderful artist, Ignacio Noé, to do the illustrations and so nobody edited anything I wrote or that he drew,” Cusack said. “So it’s really a piece of work that was just done by two people. It was just me and Ignacio’s story, and that doesn’t happen today.”
“There’s no bull, and there’s no committee. There’s no computer up in Seattle that’s poll testing it,” he added.
But Cusack isn't the only member of his family to have ditched the glitz and glam for something a little more normal.
His sister, School of Rock, and Addams's Family icon, Joan Cusack, also left Hollywood for some time.
Cusack (Joan) opened up to E! News at the Toy Story 5 premier in Los Angeles this year, which marked the first time she was seen on a red carpet in years, where she explained that she made the decision to step away from Hollywood to focus on her family.
“I’ve got to say, I did at a certain point say wait a second, I really want to make a priority of being in Chicago where I live and raising my kids," she told the outlet. "This is what I’ve been doing for 10 years.”
The voice of Jessie shared that she hasn't been seen on a red carpet for some time due to not being in major motion picture events for years.
She said: “Being on the carpet is just kind of one part of Hollywood. They don’t always have carpets for TV shows and all kinds of other things, so I just haven’t been in a movie this big in a long time."