‘Elijah Peel’ Star Kevin Sorbo Explains Why He’s Never Moving Back to California, and He Doesn’t Hold Back

Kevin Sorbo built his career playing one of television’s most enduring mythological heroes, but these days the actor’s biggest battle has been with his former home state. Nearly seven years after packing up and leaving California behind for Florida, the “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” star has made it clear that door has officially closed for good.

That decision wasn’t made lightly, and Sorbo has spent time reflecting on exactly what pushed him to relocate his family and career across the country. The actor’s latest comments on the subject arrive as he continues promoting his newest project, offering a candid look at just how firmly he’s settled into his new life away from Hollywood’s traditional home base.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Sorbo laid out exactly why he has no plans of ever returning to California, boiling his reasoning down to three specific grievances. “But yeah, there are things I miss, but they can keep their taxes, they can keep their traffic, and they can keep their negativity, I’m done,” Sorbo said.

Sorbo didn’t shy away from acknowledging what he still misses about his old life, mentioning Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, his old golf course, his previous house, and California’s famously mild climate. Despite that nostalgia, he made clear the trade-off simply wasn’t worth it anymore, noting that Florida’s humid summers are offset by winters he described as genuinely amazing.

Beyond the practical complaints about taxes and traffic, Sorbo pointed to something deeper driving his decision to stay put in Florida: a sense of acceptance he felt was becoming increasingly difficult to find in California. The actor said the independent film community has embraced him in ways he didn’t always feel from mainstream Hollywood, with filmmakers and creators from around the country reaching out to him through his own production company, Sorbo Studios.

That sense of community has clearly meant a lot to the actor, who described the connections he’s made since relocating as genuinely invaluable to both his personal and professional life. Sorbo has been outspoken in the past about feeling sidelined by the entertainment industry over his political and religious views, and this latest conversation continued that thread.

The actor took particular aim at what he views as an unwillingness within Hollywood to tolerate differing perspectives, criticizing the industry’s treatment of people who hold certain political or religious beliefs. He framed the situation as unnecessarily divisive, arguing that differing opinions shouldn’t be treated as a professional liability.

Sorbo’s comments come as his latest film, “Elijah Peel,” a faith-based drama inspired by a true story, hits theaters. The film follows a rock star whose career and battle with addiction spiral out of control following a near-fatal heart attack, with Sorbo playing the musician’s longtime talent manager. Willie and Korie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame serve as executive producers on the project, adding another notable connection to the world of faith-based entertainment.

Sorbo has expressed confidence that projects like “Elijah Peel” prove faith-based filmmakers no longer need traditional Hollywood’s approval to find an audience, pointing to what he sees as a large and growing viewer base eager for this kind of content. For an actor who spent decades as one of television’s most recognizable action heroes, Sorbo’s latest chapter suggests he’s found a creative home entirely outside the industry’s usual boundaries, and he sounds entirely at peace with that shift.

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