Veronica Mars star Jason Dohring has gone on to enjoy a surprising career change since leaving the world of television.
The 44-year-old appeared on the show for three seasons before it abruptly ended in 2007 due to low ratings.
After portraying the character of Logan Echolls, Dohring reprised his role in the 2014 fan-funded movie then went on to appear in the 2019 Hulu series.
But soon after that, the former child actor took an interest in farming and found the hobby taking up most of his time.
‘I didn’t even notice COVID for months ‘cause I was in my backyard, just gardening and stuff like that. It wasn’t, like, a huge thing, but then I just got [a bigger] interest in it,’ the actor explained on an episode of the Don’t Do Nothing podcast released Thursday.
Dohring married painter and artist Lauren Kutner in 2004 and the pair share four children; son Owen Riley, 16, plus daughters Lilly, 13, Ainsley Mae, 10, and Isla Avery, eight.
Veronica Mars star Jason Dohring is opening up about why he stepped away from Hollywood
The former child actor took an interest in farming and found the hobby taking up most of his time during the pandemic
Since the original series ended in 2007, his costar Kristen Bell has gone on to enjoy a massively successful career, including being the voice of Gossip Girl and starring in a number of movies and TV shows.
The screen star made appearances in All Rise in 2020 and SEAL Team in 2021 but he has acquired three farms over the years.
He explained that he started taking the ‘cool’ hobby seriously about three or four years ago.
‘We’re just making great food for people ‘cause I really realized that people are getting sick from the food that they’re eating,’ he explained of his love for farming.
‘I just really wanted to change that and the flavor of food can be so amazing and there’s an art that you can create too, like with the way your farms are built and stuff. I told my agents, “I’m just going to go farm for a minute.” They said, “Well, we’re still going to send you stuff.” I said, “OK, fine.”’
Dohring is a Scientologist who lives near the headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. In the past he has said he became a better actor because of it.
He hasn’t given up his acting craft completely and so fans can expect him to step back into the spotlight for certain projects.
‘I got a call to do somebody’s little short film a little while ago, and I went and did that as a favor to them [and I enjoyed] that,’ he said. ‘I love art, and when I get around art, even talking about this is exciting to me. … It’s really amazing.’
He continued: ‘I think there’s something in everybody that is aesthetic, meaning beautiful, or wants to create. I think that, obviously, because when they see that, they feel it, so there’s something in them that resonates with that, you know. I just love it.’
He explained that he started taking the ‘cool’ hobby seriously about three or four years ago
Dohring, who has four children, is a Scientologist who lives near the headquarters in Clearwater, Florida but the star has three farms in different locations for various reasons
Dohring seen with Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars
Dohring has worked on farms all over the country. He said on the podcast that he has personally planted around 3,500 trees on his 14 acres up in West Virginia.
‘We did apples, pears, peaches, cherries, nectarines — all the cold weather stuff that you can’t do here in Florida because those trees need a certain amount of cold weather to make fruit,’ the star explained.
He revealed that he once spent three months ‘covering all of our trees with a landscape fabric’ instead of using chemicals.
‘We haven’t sprayed once on our farm,’ he said. ‘And we’re doing it with great success.’
Now Dohring wants to grow food for 5,000 people and make their own market for ‘people who care about really good quality food,’ comparing it to a private wine club, ‘but for exceptional food.’
He added: ‘I really, honestly, just want to help people, in whatever way, whether it’s farming, gardening, education, art — I just love it.’
