Ben Foster Explains Why He Left Hollywood for Nashville: 'Gentler for Me'

Ben Foster left the bright lights of Hollywood after a decade to settle down in the country.

“I lived in L.A. for, we’ll call it 12 years. I lived in New York for about the same,” Foster, 44, told The Hollywood Reporter in a profile published on Wednesday, September 10. “[My ex-wife, Laura Prepon, and I] had two children and my parents are very close with my children. They’ve moved close to Nashville.”

He continued, “After the pandemic, I had a cognition that I didn’t need to live on either coast, quite frankly. I love horses and I ride. I love live music. I dig country music. There’s been a shift from both coasts and I’ve found that it’s gentler for me, at least, to hub there. Nashville is just a different way. I’m enjoying it.”

Foster was married to That ‘70s Show alum Prepon, 45, from 2018 to 2024, during which they welcomed two kids. Foster filed for divorce last year, which was settled in April.

Foster did not further detail how he and Prepon were coparenting their children amid his move to Music City. He did, however, tell the outlet that the relocation cemented an instant bond with his Motor City collaborator Potsy Ponciroli.

“When Potsy emailed me, he said, ‘OK, we can Zoom at 12 p.m. What coast are you on?’ I told him that I was in Nashville and he said, ‘Get out! Me too!’” Foster recalled to THR. “We decided to meet in person and have lunch, all on the same day, right after I had read the script. I have to be intuitive. I don’t want to be too thoughtful about things. It’s got to move me immediately.”

Foster plays a ruthless drug lord in the upcoming action film, starring opposite Shailene Woodley, Alan Ritchson and Pablo Schreiber.

“It’s like music when the song calls you. I wasn’t doing line readings because there aren’t a lot of lines here, but I was more responding to the space,” he gushed of the project. “I’m a physical person, I can’t help but be in this skin suit that we all negotiate with every day. I think I just felt like moving with him and talking about scenes. I got turned on.”

He added, “Also, knowing that [Shailene] was attached, I have been a fan of hers for years. As an actor, sometimes you lean in and other times, you lean back and let others do their thing. Shay is always unpredictable and true.”