Celebs who can build things
Many an actor will tell you that a great way to come down from a demanding role is to build something.
Indeed, whether it’s framing a wall, installing a window or finishing a basement, there is something about the left-brain, cut-and-dried logic of carpentry that offers a nice departure from the right-brain business of taking on a character’s trauma.
Many did it before they became successful thesps, others adopted it after as a means of relaxation. But all found it to be great escapism – kind of like acting.
William H. Macy: The former “Shameless” star likes to say he’s a hack who has “the money that I can ruin a lot of lumber,” but he’s built a bridge and several gazebos on his Southern California property as well as furniture in his extensive woodshop. He also has a lathe on which he’ll turn salad bowls. He caught the woodworking bug from his father in his native Maryland and it’s a love that continues to this day.
Harrison Ford: As a struggling young actor, Ford wasn’t happy with the roles offered him so he hit the local library, took out books and taught himself carpentry. His skills got him numerous jobs around Hollywood, one with Francis Ford Coppola, who gave him a bit part in “The Conversation.” That connection got him a meeting with George Lucas, who asked him to read for a new movie called “Star Wars.” And the rest, as they say, is history.
Kevin Dunn: The character actor best known for his role of White House Chief of Staff in the HBO political comedy “Veep” acquired his carpentry chops building show sets while in college and followed that up by buying and renovating several houses in his native Chicago. He calls it “good therapy” because it gets his mind off his troubles.
Adam Carolla: Before stardom, Carolla got by by doing odd jobs as a carpenter, a skill he brought to television with the 2005 TLC series “The Adam Carolla Project,” in which he purchased his father’s house in Los Angeles and renovated it with help from friends from his construction days.