Josh Duhamel to Hollywood: Keep Politics Off the Stage

So, here’s a bit of wisdom (or at least industry strategy) that I didn’t exactly see coming from actor Josh Duhamel. If you’re curious why you rarely see him jumping into Twitter brawls or making awards show speeches about the political flavor of the month, you’re not imagining things—the man has a game plan, and he’s sticking to it.

Politics and Showbiz: Duhamel’s Rule of Thumb

Duhamel—who most people either remember from his early soap ‘All My Children’ days, or maybe the 'Transformers' blockbusters, or, more recently, 'Ransom Canyon'—sat down with Megyn Kelly on her podcast and basically broke down why he’s made a personal vow of silence on politics, at least in public.

He said, "I have real strong opinions about things but I don’t really talk about it because it’s like, ‘Why would I alienate half my audience?’ Because I respect their views on things but I’m not going to preach to them."

Honest approach, right? And his reasoning is simple: it’s not really about hiding who he is, it’s about not wanting to tick off huge swaths of viewers who might otherwise tune in to see him blow things up, fall in love, or wrangle cattle. He figures, why mess with a good thing and ‘alienate half your audience’ over something that isn’t the job he’s there to do? It stacks up, if you’re in the business of being liked by millions.

Making Movies, Not Speeches

Duhamel was pretty direct about viewing all this as a practical (read: business) decision. He said performers who like to go off about politics have every right, but if you ‘want to be successful in this business, why would you make half of your audience despise you by your beliefs?’ His take—maybe some actors just don’t care, but he basically does.

In his own words: "I mean, I look at it as a business decision, you know? I’m here just to make cool movies, cool TV. I’m here to make cool stuff. I’m the court jester, you know? If I want to preach to you about what I believe politically, I will go run for office, which I’m not [going to do]."

I have to say, even if he’s not jumping into the mud on cable news, Duhamel’s not exactly fence-sitting—he’s drawn his line and seems totally at peace with sticking to the script. He sees his role as entertainer, not politician, period.

Not Exactly Alone

Apparently, Duhamel’s approach isn't as rare as it used to be. Megyn Kelly noted that more stars are backing away from playing pundit as the country grows more, well, split down the middle. Jennifer Lawrence is one big name who’s publicly said she’s keeping more of that stuff to herself these days. It’s maybe a trend—whether it keeps fans happy, or just helps actors avoid a never-ending scroll of angry tweets, who knows.

• Josh Duhamel: Strong opinions, but politics stay offline/on the shelf.
• Stance: He'd rather keep his audience than risk turning them off.
• Business, not soapbox: ‘Here to make cool stuff,' not run for office.
• Not just him: Other high-profile actors are starting to agree, especially in these divided times.

At the end of the day, Duhamel’s all about the movies and TV shows, not the campaign trail. Makes sense—sometimes you just want the guy to slay robots without telling you how to vote.