Superman actor Dean Cain is the latest Hollywood star to flee California to states friendlier to the movie industry, such as Nevada, Texas and Louisiana.
Cain appeared on Fox and Friends on Wednesday to say he drove from his $6 million home in Malibu to Las Vegas, where he said there is less traffic and lower taxes, adding that his peers are leaving “in droves.”
‘I love California. It is the most beautiful state. Everything is great except the policy,” Cain told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “The policy is just awful. The tax policy, the soft-on crime policy, the homelessness policy.”
Actor Mark Wahlberg is another star who left California for Nevada and last week lobbied state lawmakers to pass a bill that would increase movie production tax credits to create what he dubbed “Hollywood 2.0.”
Cain, who moved to California with his mother as a young child, is best known for playing Clark Kent on the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman between 1993 and 1997.
Superman actor Dean Cain appeared on Fox and Friends Wednesday to say he was forced out of California to escape high taxes and bad policies
Cain put his Malibu home (pictured) on the market in March and sold it for $6.25 million last month as part of an effort to flee California
“The things our leaders have done in California have driven out anyone who can really afford to get out. People are leaving en masse,” Cain said on Wednesday.
When asked if the switch was likely to affect his livelihood as an actor, he suggested that the film industry had been spending money elsewhere for some time.
“The company is long gone. The prices to film there are astronomical, that’s why people are filming in Georgia and Louisiana and Texas and other states,” said Cain.
“The cost of doing business is so much lower there, on all fronts,” he added.
“The hardest part is you have such a great base of employees in California, but everyone I know who works there wants to get out too. I’ve been shooting a movie in California for the last four or five years, I don’t know, everything else is somewhere else.”
Cain placed his Malibu home on the market in March and sold the property for $6.25 million last month.
“I’ve been here for two weeks now and I can tell you, smart move,” Cain said of his move to Nevada.
“My son is ten times happier here in Las Vegas. If I wanted to do anything from Malibu, it would take me 45 minutes to an hour to get anywhere. Here the longest I drive is 20 minutes.’
Cain said he loved “beautiful” California, but had only shot one movie there in recent years. Pictured is his old home in Malibu
Cain’s home in Malibu had a private pool and waterfall spa. The estate covers almost half a hectare
In February, Wahlberg sold his 12-bedroom, 20-bathroom Beverly Hills mansion for $55 million in hopes of giving his kids a “better life” in tax-free Nevada.
“I’d like to see us build studios, create jobs and just diversify the economy,” Wahlberg told CNBC last week. “I moved my last film here. I’m still shooting a movie here in the summer.’
“I think there are so many more opportunities to create here. There’s so much growth and so much potential, it’s a great opportunity for everyone to flourish,” he said.
Boston-born Wahlberg lived in his Beverly Hills mansion for more than a decade, but said there wasn’t even much work for him.
“I moved to California many years ago to pursue acting and I’ve only made a few movies in all the time I’ve been there,” he said.
Wahlberg has made at least two purchases in Nevada, a $15.6 million 2.5-acre plot of land he plans to build on, as well as a $14.5 million bungalow to live in when construction begins, according to Elite Agent .
Actor Mark Wahlberg, 51, pushes to create a new Hollywood in Las Vegas months after leaving his Los Angeles home to give his kids a ‘better life’
Wahlberg’s October move to Nevada comes after he sold his 12-bedroom, 20-bathroom Beverly Hills mansion for $55 million in February
Last month, actor Dennis Quaid and other celebrities took part in a campaign to make Texas the new movie capital.
Mathew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson also appeared on the scene and advocated for projects to come to the Lone Star state.
“Texas has done a very good job of moving much of the tech industry out of Silicon Valley. If you go to Austin, you can see that very clearly,” Quaid said.
The same can be done with movies and television shows. It’s a great place to shoot.’