John Corbett says he regrets his career as a Hollywood actor.
Corbett, who's best known for his roles on television show “Sex and the City” and the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” movie franchise, told “Fly on the Wall” podcast hosts Dana Carvey and David Spade that he wishes he'd instead worked behind the scenes as a screenwriter or a producer.
“Look, I’m in the fourth quarter of the football game now, in life and in showbiz. It’s just a fact. So I can reveal now I picked the f---ing wrong thing to do with my life,” he said.
The 63-year-old actor said even as a child, he’s hated being told what to do by “any authority figure,” which has made his career that much more frustrating.
“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 said.
Corbett also described the boredom he feels working on a movie set.
“Have you ever sat in a f---ing waiting room of a doctor’s office for like an hour and been like, ‘What the f---?’” he said. “For me, that’s what making a movie is like, because I’m not part of any creative process.”
The actor, who married longtime love Bo Derek in 2020, acknowledged one or two perks of the job.
“I’ve made a lot of money. I live in a beautiful home. People come to me at every 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 that made people laugh. So it’s been unfulfilling on that level.”
Corbett's comments come a year after he told The New York Times that he wasn't passionate about acting.
“I’ve made friends with the idea of, this is just what I do,” he explained. “When the phone rings and it feels like the money’s right and the place is right and the time is right, I’ll go be this guy that these people want.”
The 6'5" star also said he got attention for his breakout role in 1990 as mellow deejay Chris Stevens on "Northern Exposure" because of his appearance, which set the tone for his career.
“I was the hunky guy and women would gush,” said Corbett. “I don’t think one person has ever come up to me and said, ‘Hey, I think you’re a good actor.’”
