Years before finding fame on hit shows such as “Friday Night Lights” and “True Detective,” Taylor Kitsch was down on his luck.
“I was literally sleeping on the subway,” the actor, who moved from Canada to New York City to pursue modeling and acting in 2002, told People magazine.
“It was a blue train from downtown all the way up to 182nd and at night they’d change, they’d take longer, A, C or E,” he told US Weekly in 2017.
Kitsch, who was only homeless for less than a month, said things took a turn for the better after meeting his talent manager.
“She was like, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘Character pieces,'” he told People. “She was like, ‘All right, I’ll take a risk on you.'”
“All I’ve ever wanted to do is disappear into different characters,” Kitsch added. “It’s never been about leading a show or being in the limelight or money.”
Four years later, Kitsch landed a life-changing role as Tim Riggins on “Friday Night Lights” in 2006.
“People, for some reason or another, just really gravitated to Riggins,” he told the outlet. “It truly affected my life, and all for the better.”
Despite his success, Kitsch – who currently stars in the Netflix miniseries “American Primeval” – was never a fan of the glitz and glam of Hollywood.
“I got a later start in the business, and I was able to have a sense of who I was and what I needed,” Kitsch, who moved to Montana in 2023, told The Hollywood Reporter that same year. “Being in L.A. was never a great thing for me, and I love being out here – there’s just so much peace to grasp. That’s what this place represents to me: It’s not going to solve every problem, but hopefully it will help at least one person work toward what they need.”
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These days when he’s not working, Kitsch – who was attracted to Bozeman, Montana, due to his interest in wildlife photography – has been focused on building a space for the veteran and sober/recovery communities.
“I’m just really excited about this, about it being a base camp for people to empower themselves,” said Kitsch, whose sister battled addiction a year prior.
“I didn’t even know sober escapes existed until I had the crash course with my sis,” Kitsch told People. “I was like, ‘Man, it sounds incredible to offer people a chance to reconnect in nature and slow things down.'”
