Matthew Fox (Pennsylvania, 59 years old) was the resourceful Dr. Jack Shepard in the six seasons of Lost, the successful series he starred in from 2004 to 2010. After that, he took his career more calmly. He played the serial killer in Mindhunter in 2012; or the American soldier who saves Brad Pitt’s character and his family in World War Z in 2013. But, in 2014, he decided to pack his bags and move to Italy, distancing himself from Los Angeles, Hollywood, and the media spotlight in general. “For a few years, I was very much in the spotlight, especially with Lost, and then I did movies for a couple of years,” the actor recalled in an interview with People published this Sunday, May 31. “For me, stepping away from acting was more about spending time with my family,” the actor justified, who is currently promoting the series The Madison.
Fox has been married since 1992 to Italian model Margherita Ronchi, with whom he has two children: Kyle, 31, and Byron, 28. At the time of deciding to move to Italy, the eldest was already no longer a child, according to the actor: “Our daughter was entering adolescence, and I had been on sets and also traveling a lot, doing a lot of promotion for Lost. Margherita and I felt it was a good time to really focus on our children, who were going through adolescence, which is always a bit of a challenge.” Fox also has not shared content on his Instagram profile since 2018. His last post, from August 28 of that year, is a blurry photo with Ronchi in which he wrote: “I love you.”
Already in March of this year, the actor confessed to Variety that his Italian retreat of more than a decade — he is now passing through Los Angeles occasionally — has helped him connect with his family like he hadn’t during his demanding years filming the series that made him famous. “I felt it was time to really get involved with my family. I had missed part of their childhood because I was always on the set with Lost and making movies. It was the right time to step back, take a breath, and connect with the people I love and care about most in the world,” he told the entertainment outlet.
What he has not yet managed to do is learn Italian, he confessed during his visit to Jimmy Kimmel’s show also in March: “I’m learning. It’s not an easy language, but I’m learning it.”
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In the new interview with People, Fox says he feels “very proud” of Kyle and Byron, whom he describes as “absolutely amazing.” “When you’re in this business, I think it’s very good to create a space where you feel like you’re living life. I think that feeds the work you do when you come back,” he says referring to his Italian home as that space where he really lives life. He also says that thanks to moving to Europe he was able to “discover many interests” in his life, such as music or flying — he is a great aviation enthusiast and holds a private pilot license. “Flying is very important to me and I dedicate a lot of time to it. It’s almost like meditation or therapy. It helps me organize my mind,” he admits.
Before participating in The Madison, where he shares the cast with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, Fox has only appeared in a couple of television projects since moving to Italy: in The Last Light (2022) and in Caught! (2023). No acting projects are announced for his near future.
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