Actor and writer Danny McBride has shared his reasons for relocating his family from Los Angeles to Charleston, South Carolina, in 2017. McBride explained on the Rich Roll podcast that the move was motivated by a desire for increased creative freedom and a better environment for raising his children.
McBride, known for his work on "Eastbound & Down" and "The Righteous Gemstones," suggested that choosing less accessible filming locations from Los Angeles inadvertently granted him more autonomy. "When we were shooting 'Eastbound,' we were shooting in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the idea that there was not a direct flight, at that time, from L.A. to North Carolina, we noticed that the executives never came to set," McBride recalled. "We're like, 'Oh, we just gotta choose cities that it's not easy to get to from L.A., and then we'll have more freedom.'"
Beyond professional considerations, McBride emphasized the impact of the move on his children, Declan, 14, and Ava, 10, whom he shares with his wife, Gia Ruiz. He expressed concern about the pervasive nature of social media and sought to limit his children's exposure to it. "In my house, I try to limit my kids having access to all this stuff," McBride said. "I just try to be present in their lives. So, if they're listening to anybody's take on the world, hopefully it's mine and my wife's, and not a stranger online."
He noted that Charleston offers a different lifestyle, one he believes is less dominated by digital platforms. "I think maybe that's part of the benefit of being in Charleston is like, we live on a creek and the kids in our neighborhood are into fishing, and they're into, you know, getting out in the water," he shared. "And I don't know … it's not as pervasive there, I guess."
McBride also discussed how becoming a parent shifted his perspective on work-life balance. "It was really easy to do this job when I didn't have kids," he admitted. "And then once kids came around, it started to be like, 'I don't want to give that much time to this. I want to get the result, but I have other jobs now too. I want to be there for these kids. I want to be a good partner for my wife. I don't want to push all these things off just because I'm making a TV show.'"
To manage these competing demands, McBride has adopted a routine of starting his workday before his children wake up. "And then by the time the kids go awake, I already have started something that's got my mind working, that has me excited. I can sit down and be present for those guys and get them to school, and I drop ‘em off, then I come back home and I jam more," he said. "I just try to find the time that works that doesn’t make me sequestered off while the rest of life is happening and I'm hammering away nonsense and d--- jokes."