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Josh Duhamel prefers to raise his sons in his rural cabin in Minnesota rather than in the hustle and bustle of Hollywood.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, the “Ransom Canyon” star said his 11-year-old son, Axl, is able to get to work in Minnesota, which isn’t possible in Los Angeles.
“I think it’s really about the memories that we make as a family. My parents love coming out here to hang out. My wife’s parents love hanging out here. My son, Axl, my 11-year-old … L.A., there’s a lot of good things about L.A., but it’s good for him to get his hands dirty and come out into the woods and help dad with whatever,” Duhamel said.
Josh Duhamel prefers to raise his sons in Minnesota over Los Angeles. (Getty Images/Instagram)
He shared a story about a time that Axl had to help his dad, which he wasn’t too happy about.
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“We had a tree that fell over in the winter. We had to go out there and cut it up and put it in the back of the side-by-side and go stack the wood. He’s not doing that in Los Angeles, you know, and he sort of does it begrudgingly, but he’s going to be grateful because one day he’s going to have to do all this stuff, you know, and I think that it’s these little lessons.”
WATCH: Josh Duhamel says Midwest lifestyle allows him to teach kids lessons they can’t learn in LA
Duhamel shares Axl with ex-wife, Fergie. The actor married Audra Mari in 2022 and the couple share one-year-old Shepherd.
“Shepherd is 15 months, he’s going to be doing the same thing, and I think that these things just help contribute, because we’re 40 miles from anything here, there’s nothing. We have to pretty much fend for ourselves when we’re out here. So these kids need to learn how to do this stuff, and they’re not going to get to do that in L.A.
“So these kids need to learn how to do this stuff, and they’re not going to get to do that in L.A.”
“So, for that reason alone, I think it’s great. Plus they just love it. They have buddies out here, they get to, you know, go jet skiing and tubing and all those things that you do on a lake,” Duhamel said.
Since Duhamel has spent time off the grid in Minnesota, he has been able to become detached from a lot of things.
“Something happens as soon as I get out here, my blood pressure drops. It’s not about my phone. It’s not about anything else other than making sure we got what we need to survive. It’s not like we’re living hand to mouth. We make sure we have enough groceries and stuff. Yesterday, we came out here, the septic tank was frozen. We had to figure out how to get it unfrozen so that we had water. I can’t just call up some dude to come out and do it. It’s just us. So we got to figure it out,” Duhamel said.
Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari tied the knot in 2022. (Arnold Jerocki/WireImage)
Josh Duhamel was previously married to Fergie and they share their 11-year-old son. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Trevor Project)
He continued, “I think it’s those kinds of things that I really like about it because it’s back to the basics. It’s making sure you got enough food, enough water, you’re warm enough and then, from there, we just start to have the fun. So it’s not taking advantage of or taking for granted those luxuries and amenities that I think we all grow accustomed to.”
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Living off the grid is not just a personal choice for Duhamel and his family; he actually encourages everyone to give it a try.
WATCH: Josh Duhamel finds similarities in his ‘Ransom Canyon’ character
“It’s always fun because I love having friends come out here. First, it’s a lot when you first get out here, but then after two or three days, they just love it. Like I said, we’re not living in tents out here, but it takes a day or two to get accustomed to it because you’re away from all those things. I do think that it’s good for people to get a taste of it. I think that we’re missing a lot of that. I think we’re sort of floating a lot with getting so caught up in our phones and what’s being fed to us. I think if you can just step away from that, you get a new perspective on things,” Duhamel said.
On April 16, Duhamel jokingly told Country Living that he referred to his property as his “doomsday cabin,” which is located up a two-mile dirt path.
Josh Duhamel previously called his property in Minnesota his “doomsday cabin.” (Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
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Duhamel purchased some land and spent the last 15 years building a rustic cabin. He eventually added a second parcel that came with a hunting shack and a third parcel that came with a home.
“It’s a cute little red cabin with a stone chimney that sits right on the water; it’s basically a Terry Redlin painting,” he told the outlet, referring to the famous artist’s scenic work.
In Duhamel’s professional life, the rom-com icon has taken to the small screen to star in Netflix’s “Ransom Canyon.” In the series, Duhamel plays Staten Kirkland, who is fighting to protect his land in a small town in Texas.
Josh Duhamel as Staten in “Ransom Canyon” (Netflix)
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“I think Stan and I, I really related to this dude from the very beginning because of the things I mentioned before with having grown up in North Dakota, having a property out here at the cabin that I have a lot of pride in. I’ve spent a lot of years shaping and building this place out. And I don’t have cattle or horses, but I do have tractors and all the other stuff that I think you need to run a ranch.
“And that’s really what I think drew me to this guy on the outset. I really sort of felt like it was something I could dig into and that he just lost his wife and his son a year to the day we start the show. So he’s really starting from a dark place and sort of, how do I navigate that? How do I pull this guy out of this thing? And he’s sort of back into the real world for the first time in years,” Duhamel said.
Minka Kelly as Quinn in “Ransom Canyon.” (Courtesy of Netflix © 2025)
“It was just a lot of fun. I love this world. I love his character. And we have a great cast and a great team of writers and a crew that helped make it all come to life,” he concluded.
The “Ransom Canyon” cast also includes Minka Kelly, James Brolin and Jack Schumacher. It’s streaming now on Netflix.