Bug Hall’s trademark cowlick and Hollywood career are now distant memories. The former The Little Rascals star is living off-grid in Arkansas with his wife and children, describing himself as a “radical Catholic extremist” committed to a vow of poverty, Our News Outlet can reveal.
Hall “self-canceled” from Hollywood and relocated his family to an 80-acre property near Mountain Home after taking the religious vow.
The 41-year-old father of five said he surrendered the wealth he earned as a child actor by giving away his savings and much of what he owned.
For now, the family lives in a campervan equipped with a water well and generator while Hall works toward building a permanent home. His long-term plans include going completely off-grid with a hydroelectric dam, as well as installing the property’s plumbing and electrical systems himself.
In an exclusive interview, Hall told Our News Outlet that the family’s only regular expenses are gas for the generator and car, along with $100 for cellphone service for himself and his wife.
“My goal is to maintain a life as free of any need for an income as possible,” he said in January. “If there’s a financial need that comes up, I’ll go take some work or do an odd job, for cash to fulfill that need.”
Bug Hall (center) became a beloved child star after playing the iconic Alfalfa in the 1994 Steven Spielberg film The Little Rascals
A young Bug Hall (right) appears in a scene from The Little Rascals with co-star Travis Tedford
Brandon “Bug” Hall appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1994
Hall has left Hollywood to live off-grid with his family in Arkansas, embracing life as a “radical Catholic extremist” while expressing controversial views, including support for severe punishment of children
On November 5, Hall posted a fundraiser to his X account, despite having largely avoided the platform, seeking $2,000.
Within three days, donations had surpassed $22,000.
“We’ve made it onto the new land in record time, but I’m a few materials short of having things working right, and I’ve fallen a little behind on the few bills we have — phone, propane for the camper, and an unexpected electric hookup service fee,” he wrote on GoFundMe.
“We’re all overjoyed to be where we are, and we’re even enjoying roughing it, but baby six is less than a month away, and I really need some help getting the last few things buttoned up beforehand.”
Hall and his wife, Jill, married in 2017. They welcomed their eldest daughters while living in Los Angeles, then moved across the country, spending time in Texas in 2020 before later living in Michigan and Ohio. The family eventually settled in northern Arkansas.
The couple homeschools their children and, Hall said, will “strongly discourage them” from attending college, which he dismissed as largely “nonsense.”
His eight-year-old daughter hopes to establish her own convent on the property, while another child has asked him to build a home for her and her future husband, he said.
In his April 2025 YouTube video, “Into the Unknown,” Hall opened with a prayer before explaining why he abandoned his career, which he described in hindsight as “a big pile of nothing”
Hall called himself a “radical Catholic extremist” and said raising “extremists” was the only way “to combat our age”
Hall lives in northern Arkansas, while his brother Gemini Barnett resides nearby in Mountain View. Their mother, Twila, and stepfather, Mark, moved to Cave City
Gemini bought a 10-acre property in Mountain View for $150,000 in June 2024 and has completed most of the construction there
Hall was born Brandon Rowan, but his childhood nickname endured. He legally changed his name to Bug Hall-Barnett to honor his stepfather, Mark Barnett, who helped raise him.
He rose to fame playing Alfalfa in Steven Spielberg’s 1994 film The Little Rascals and later received a Children’s Emmy nomination for A Tale Dark and Grimm. He also co-wrote This Is the Year, with Selena Gomez serving as executive producer. Today, however, his Hollywood life is firmly behind him.
His retreat from public life began in 2020, when he was arrested after allegedly inhaling air-duster cans at a hotel while visiting his parents in Weatherford, Texas.
Hall was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor possession, but said he was never charged. Our News Outlet was unable to locate court records related to the case.
He said he had been sober for 15 years before experiencing several relapses that were “brushed to the side” as he continued working in what he called the “high energy” world of Hollywood.
Hall, who had two young daughters at the time, now regards the highly publicized arrest as one of the best things that happened to him.
“I loved making movies. I loved writing, producing, acting,” he said, adding that he did not believe God wanted him to abandon show business.
“So God had to shake me up a little harder, I suppose.”
Hall was arrested in Texas in 2020 after allegedly inhaling air-duster cans at a hotel
Property records show Hall’s mother, Twila, and her husband, Mark, have begun developing a 10-acre Cave City property purchased for $80,000 in April 2025
Hall has faced criticism for social media posts, including “sexist” remarks in which he described his son as his “heir”
Hall has said he felt unable to speak openly in Hollywood about his “traditional” and controversial views on issues including same-sex marriage and abortion. He describes gay marriage as “contrary to natural law” and abortion as “plainly murder.”
He ultimately left the industry because he no longer wanted to live a life of “manipulation, of other people, in how I speak to them, in the stuff that I make or produce… including myself, as an addict.”
“I didn’t want to go work some job that was basically meaningless, making widgets to entertain people or distract people,” Hall told Our News Outlet.
Some members of the “trad Cath” community have praised his apparent journey toward faith and his decision to pursue a simpler life on the land.
In his April 2025 video, “Into the Unknown,” Hall explained that he left Hollywood despite loving his work, comparing his career in retrospect to “fiddling with straw.”
“It was a big pile of nothing,” he said.
“It really wasn’t all that great of a sacrifice compared to what our Lord had planned to give me in return. The fruits of that decision to live this radical lifestyle.”
Responding to criticism of a post about his son’s birth, Hall compared his daughters to “dishwashers”
Hall is pictured with his wife, Jill, and three of their daughters. The family currently lives in a campervan
The father of five was banned from X in 2022 after saying his children were “severely” punished for “unacceptable behavior” from the age of 10 months
In the video, the self-canceled actor again described himself as a “radical Catholic extremist,” saying that raising “extremists” was the only way “to combat our age.”
Hall’s relocation to Arkansas has become a broader family project. His younger brother, Gemini Barnett, along with their mother, Twila, and stepfather, Mark, have also purchased land in the area.
Gemini, 36, is a married father of six and a former child actor who appeared in The Wedding Singer. Property records obtained by Our News Outlet show that he bought a 10-acre Mountain View property for $150,000 in June 2024.
Gemini has completed most of the house, where he, his wife Carrie and their children spent Christmas with Twila and Mark, according to festive photos Twila shared on Facebook last December.
Hall said in a YouTube video that he also hopes to build a church on his property and has taken construction work to raise money for the project.
Property records show that Twila and Mark began developing a 10-acre parcel in nearby Cave City after buying it for $80,000 in April 2025.
Before moving to Arkansas, Hall and his family spent 18 months in a home on a 60-acre farm in Ida, Michigan, owned by a friend he met through church.
His brother Gemini, 35, also acted as a child, appearing in The Wedding Singer, and appears to have followed Hall in leaving Hollywood
Court records reviewed by Our News Outlet indicate that Hall was evicted from the farm in fall 2024.
On X, Hall describes himself as the “patriarch of six” and a “medieval moralist.” He has told followers and “trad Cath” YouTubers that his household expenses now total only “a few hundred dollars a month.”
His social media comments have drawn widespread criticism, including remarks labeled “sexist” in which he called his son his “heir” and referred to his daughters as dishwashers.
X temporarily suspended Hall in 2022 after he said his children were “severely” punished for unacceptable behavior beginning when they were just 10 months old.
“We punish severely in my home for unacceptable behavior,” he wrote. “Punishment begins at around 10 months. Before the age of reason it’s an immediate corporal/retributive justice. It then begins to shift to a privation/reparative model.”
Hall later acknowledged that his wording may have been “not the right choice,” adding: “We believe in severe punishment, meaning that it’s swift, it’s exacting.
“I do spank my kids, and I’m a firm believer in spankings as a means of creating right cogitative associations early.”
Hall is scheduled to host a $500-per-ticket Florida fundraising gala next month, billed as an event “dedicated to preserving and promoting the timeless beauty of traditional Catholicism”
He said a 10-month-old child would receive a “small swat on the diaper,” while emphasizing that spanking in his household is “age dependent.”
As his children grow older, he said, discipline shifts toward what he called “a more deprivation” approach, such as taking away toys in a form they can understand.
Hall says he “self-canceled” years ago, largely so he could “just say what I think is true and good.”
He reinforced that message in his YouTube video, urging more young men to “speak boldly” and “fight the good fight.”
Earlier this year, Hall served as master of ceremonies at a $500-per-ticket fundraising gala in Florida billed as an event “dedicated to preserving and promoting the timeless beauty of traditional Catholicism.”
He said he intended to “disappear” from social media after the gala, posting only occasional updates about the development of his Arkansas homestead.
Since then, however, Hall has continued using X to share religious commentary, glimpses of family life and updates on the construction work.
In a recent post featuring a video filmed inside the family’s camper, he celebrated finally settling on the new property with “electricity and running water.”
“80 acres and endless potential. Now it’s time to get down to the business of living a life well lived for love of God,” he wrote.
