Dan Aykroyd, the beloved Ghostbusters star, drew a stark contrast between life in California and the quiet comfort of his native Canada in a resurfaced interview, describing parts of the Golden State as feeling almost “medieval.”
The 74-year-old actor made the remarks during a 2023 appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, where he reflected on the sharp divide between his time in Los Angeles, amid the city’s visible homeless encampments, and the calmer pace of his rural estate in Eastern Ontario.
Aykroyd, whose fortune is estimated at around $200 million, acknowledged the appeal of Santa Monica, describing it as a place of “harmony, peace, joy by the sea.” But he quickly pointed to the contradiction beneath the polished surface, noting its “beautiful houses,” upscale shops, wide boulevards — and what he described as “60,000 homeless.”
“So the underside and the overside will always, always be there,” he said, summing up the uneasy coexistence of wealth and hardship in the area.
The actor went on to say that everyday life in California requires a level of caution he finds unsettling. “We’re living in frankly medieval times,” Aykroyd said, explaining that he drives carefully, avoids being out late at night, lives behind gates and makes sure everything is locked up after dark.
Aykroyd, who shares three daughters with his wife Donna Dixon, said those concerns have shaped the way he thinks about protecting his loved ones in California. While he wishes his family could freely enjoy simple moments, such as running through a park at 1 a.m., he said the reality now is that “we have to be so guarded.”
Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd criticized life in California as “medieval” when compared with the peace and space he enjoys in Canada, according to a resurfaced interview
Aykroyd, 74, spoke on The Adam Carolla Show in 2023 about the contrast between Los Angeles, its homeless encampments and his countryside estate in Eastern Ontario — pictured in Ghostbusters II in 1989
Carolla added, ‘Well, what we’re living in, especially in California, is you have Jay-Z and Beyoncé buy a $200 million house in Malibu, but in order to get there, you have to drive through a homeless encampment.
Aykroyd responded, ‘They got a deal, by the way. It’s worth $700’ with Carolla saying, ‘That’s where we’re at, which is ultra rich and then people just expiring on the streets in squalor.’
Aykroyd said, ‘Well, thankfully, knowing people like that, they’re going to drive through their driveway, see that, and immediately start to act to try to alleviate and help in some way, because that’s the kind of people they are.’
Aykroyd said a visit from a friend from Israel who stayed on his farm in Canada had caused him to reflect on how lucky he was to live in a country free from war.
The actor said: ‘Here I am driving through the bucolic countryside … and we’re in Canada. We’re driving to the drugstore to get an ice cream, and he tells me, “What it is like to live in a country without war?” I thought to myself, “Boy, do I take things for granted, you know, around this place.”
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Aykroyd separated from Dixon in 2022 after nearly 40 years of marriage.
The couple were introduced on the set of the cult comedy Doctor Detroit, which Dan led and Donna played a supporting role in.
The actor, worth an estimated $200million, praised Santa Monica for its ‘harmony, peace, joy by the sea’, but added ‘It’s beautiful there, beautiful houses and beautiful shops and lovely wide boulevards and 60,000 homeless’ – pictured an unhoused person in Santa Monica
Aykroyd said a visit from a friend from Israel who stayed on his farm in Canada had caused him to reflect on how lucky he was to live in a country free from war
Aykroyd, who shares three daughters with Donna Dixon, said he felt compelled to ‘bring my family close’ in California, saying, ‘whereas really I would like to take my family and let them run in the park at 1 in the morning. But, no. We have to be so guarded now; seen in 2016 in Hollywood
The film was shot in 1982, and they married in 1983, the year of its release.
Prior to starting his long-term relationship with Donna, he was briefly engaged to the late Carrie Fisher, whom he popped the question to while filming The Blues Brothers, though she later called it off after reuniting with her ex Paul Simon.
In a 2014 interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Aykroyd explained what it was about his wife that fascinated him.
‘You gotta find the right person — look them in the eye, have them look back, and know their soul,’ he said. ‘She’s a Southern woman who is understanding and doesn’t mind dealing with the boys from time to time. I call her the White Goddess. And I’m the Green Demon.’
Aykroyd, who was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is best known for his early stint on Saturday Night Live, before he transitioned into a successful film career that included the Ghostbusters franchise, which he costarred in with Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.
His biggest commercial successes were in the 1980s, but he has continued to work steadily in recent decades.
In 2007, he branched out into liquor sales by founding Crystal Head Vodka, a high-end vodka bottled in a glass skull.
