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The actor, who grew up in North Dakota, owns a sprawling off-grid property in Minnesota where he enjoys spending much of his time, he previously told PEOPLE
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- Josh Duhamel credits his off-grid Minnesota cabin and North Dakota upbringing for preparing him for his Ransom Canyon role
- The actor built his rustic lakeside cabin over a decade ago without electricity or running water for years
- Duhamel says he values a quieter, hands-on lifestyle away from Los Angeles to stay connected to his roots
Josh Duhamel was already well-versed in ranch life when he first stepped into his Ransom Canyon role.
In a July 21 appearance on CBS Mornings, the actor, 53, opened up about needing very little prep for his role as Staten Kirkland on the Netflix Western drama thanks to his own experiences living in an off-grid cabin.
While he first admitted to co-host Gayle King that he isn’t much of a horse guy despite his character constantly having to ride horseback, he said his Minnesota cabin and North Dakota upbringing helped him adjust to the rugged lifestyle almost immediately.
“Growing up in North Dakota, it’s everywhere. It’s all around us,” he said of ranch life. “And I have a cabin just on the other side of the border from North Dakota in Minnesota. Which is very ranch-like.”
“You know, it’s a cabin, there’s a lot of property, there’s a lot of land we gotta take care of,” he continues. “So I kind of live this life anyway in a lot of ways. I don’t have horses and cattle, but I do have tractors and all the equipment and stuff.”
He then recalled how the show’s creator, April Blair, had perfect timing when she presented the show idea to him.
“Actually, when I talked to April Blair about this show three years ago, I was out there at my cabin, and I was sort of in the mood to do something like this. I think she caught me at the perfect time,” he explained.
Duhamel — who welcomed his second child with wife Audra Mari in May — has frequently expressed how much he would love to live in his Minnesota abode full time.
He previously opened up to PEOPLE about why he prefers to live a quieter life in Minnesota away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, where he has to spend much of his time for work.
“I make movies and TV shows, and I love it, I truly do love it, but I had this calling to go and really do things with my hands again — fix things, make things and just do the basic things that we take for granted,” he said.
Duhamel first bought an empty parcel of land about an hour-and-a-half drive away from Fargo, N.D., over a decade ago, then slowly started to build a rustic cabin there, eventually expanding the space with more land.
His off-grid lakeside property — which Duhamel refers to as his “doomsday cabin” — didn’t have electricity, running water or other amenities for a long time.
He continued to tell PEOPLE at the time: “I’m really more of a guy who wants to stay true to my roots, get back to the basics, hone whatever basic skills I need in this world of massive technology, to do the basic things to provide for my family. That’s really what it’s about for me.”
Along with his newborn daughter, the actor shares 2-year-old son Shepherd with Mari. He’s also dad to son Axl, 12, from his previous marriage to ex-wife Fergie.
Read the original article on People
