The star of this summer’s much anticipated “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” movie opens up to Men’s Health about his rough road to success, his marriage and his love for the outdoors. Josh says, “I want to do good work, but having kids and a life outside of that is important. If you don’t have anybody around who loves you, then what’s it all for? You’re just lonely in the end.”

On life and acting…
“It’s all about whatever enriches you. If you decide to go the domestic route and get married and all those things, it makes you a better actor…“I want to do good work, but having kids and a life outside of that is important too.”

“It’s starting to happen. It’s been 12 years. And I feel like I’m finally starting to get looks at some of the things I’ve always wanted to do.”

On finishing school…
His rags to riches story: Young man drops out of college, skips dental school, heads West, gets discovered, hits the big time. 10 years after he left, Duhamel graduated from Minot State University. “I started thinking, I busted my ass for that degree and I’m not gonna finish it?”

On rely on his talent rather than his looks…
“It’s not going to last very long. And I want to be good.”

On challenging himself in Transformers…
“It’s all about, ‘They’re coming, run!’ That’s what I said for half the movie.” It’s easy to coast with such material. Instead, Duhamel tried to elevate it. “In a certain sense, it’s not the most difficult role, but you still want to give it as much depth as you can.”

On trusting himself…
“It’s something I’m working on. Trusting- just trusting that you’re good enough. If you’ve done the work, then you really can’t go wrong. At least it’s your truth.”

On his marriage…
“We try to stay away from the places where the paparazzi hang out. Still, they’re outside the house every morning.”

On finding happiness…
“I want to do good work, but having kids and a life outside of that is important. If you don’t have anybody around who loves you, then what’s it all for? You’re just lonely in the end.”

On exceeding expectations…
“People have been trying to put me in a box my whole career.” Even as a relatively inexperienced actor on the set of All My Children, Josh says, “I told myself going into it, I’m not going to be the cookie-cutter, sappy guy they’re expecting. I’ll play against whatever melodramatic writing I get.”

On his health …
“The picture of Men’s Health,” he laughs. “My friends give me crap, like, ‘You’re going to be on the cover of Men’s Health? You?”

On his acting roles…
“I have a lot more flexibility I can show. That’s what makes it fun. That’s why I love this business. I don’t want to do things just to prove to people ‘Look how dark I can be.’ It’s about the story. It has to be a good story.”

On his love for the outdoors…
“I love being outside. I grew up like Huck Finn, always outdoors, exploring, collecting frogs—there was space everywhere. I want my kids to experience that too.”

On landing the voice of Oz on the Nickelodeon show “Fanboy and Chum Chum”…
“I think I’ve had more fun doing this than anything else.” That fun didn’t come easy. He’d auditioned previously for a couple years and wasn’t hired. “Finally I said, you what, f— this. I’m going to take a class, figure out what I’ve been doing wrong, why I’m not scoring any jobs.” He landed Fanboy and Chum Chum almost immediately afterward.

“Part of the journey is rejection, and it’s good. You have to keep pushing. You have to keep fighting.”

On golf pointers…
“Okay, main thing you have to think about: Forget about that swing shit. Just look at the back of the ball, right there. Just hit it.”

On the naked pictures he posed for years ago…
“You know, to me, it’s funny at this point. Whatever. It’s done. And it was very cold in the studio, by the way.”

On maintaining friendships…
He grew up with a crew of buddies that he’s stayed tight with since childhood. “The longer we stay friends, the more I value it.”

His advice to Obama…
Duhamel and Fergie were invited to the White House for the Easter Egg Roll. Duhamel’s only advice to the President, “You have to keep your promise about changing NCAA football to a playoff system.” The President laughed.

On looking ahead …
“It’s starting to happen. It’s been 12 years. And I feel like I’m finally starting to get looks at some of the things I’ve always wanted to do.”

The July/August issue of Men’s Health comes out on June 30th

(source)

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