John Corbett Says He Regrets Acting Despite Making ‘A Lot of Money’: ‘It’s Been Unfulfilling’
John Corbett admitted that he regrets choosing acting as his career path, and the reason why is rather shocking.
“Look, I’m in the fourth quarter of the football game now, in life and in showbiz. It’s just a fact,” the Sex and the City alum said during an appearance on the “Fly on the Wall With Dana Carvey and David Spade” podcast on July 3. “So I can reveal now I picked the f--king wrong thing to do with my life.”
Most recently, John, 63, appeared in 2023’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, as well as reprising his SATC character Aidan Shaw in the spinoff And Just Like That… on Max.
“Have you ever sat in a f--cking waiting room of a doctor’s office for like an hour and been like, ‘What the f--k?'” John continued. “For me, that’s what making a movie is like, because I’m not part of any creative process.”
The Rebel alum admitted that there have been some material benefits to being in show business over the years, but still, he is “unfulfilled” in the industry. John referenced Emma Stone’s career and how she has been more involved in the creative process by producing her two most recent movies, Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, with director Yorgos Lanthimos.
“I’ve made a lot of money. I live in a beautiful home. People come to me at every restaurant I go in. I’m a friend of the world,” he said. “But as far as a fulfilling creative work life, I didn’t write one f--king line. I didn’t write one joke to make people laugh. So it’s been unfulfilling on that level.”
Most of John’s IMDb credits have come from television roles over the years, including Parenthood, United States of Tara and How I Met Your Father, in addition to the SATC franchise.
“I’m not a movie actor … I’m really a television actor and so that has to move quick and that guy’s got to make a million decisions,” John, who married actress Bo Derek in 2020, explained. “And we’re not shucking and jiving and going out for wine after. And so I’m just at this point in my life … if something seems really, really fun, I’ll say yes.”
John was spotted filming scenes for the upcoming season of And Just Like That… in New York City in May, despite Aidan’s breakup with Carrie Bradshaw in the previous season. It is unclear how their paths will cross again in the new season but fans loved seeing them together again on the screen.
“It's great to be in [John's] company again,” the show’s star and executive producer, Sarah Jessica Parker, said of working with John again on season 2 in a June 2023 interview with People. “I've been pretty public about how much I love him and how easy he is to work with, how skilled he is at what he does. He makes it look easy, but it's real work.”
“He always just makes Aidan grow from the page in a way that only he can do,” she shared. “It just felt really comfortable and happy.”