The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Lone Ranger star Armie Hammer recently discussed how he has been working in construction as a result of the continued production disruptions in Hollywood caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In promotion of his upcoming thriller “Rebecca,” Hammer appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 7th, as the first in-studio guest since lockdowns and production shutdowns began in March.
Hammer appears in the interview wearing a full astronaut costume, joking that his outfit was the best ‘hazmat’-style suit he could wear given that ‘Outbreak’ costumes were currently sold out.
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On the subject of pandemic related shutdowns, Hammer revealed to Kimmel that he had been spending a significant amount of his time during quarantine working with a friend on a construction project.
“I have been productive. I’ve been really fortunate,” said Hammer. “I mean look, the world’s falling apart, it’s the apocalypse, but funny enough, my buddy Ashton [Ramsey] bought an old motel out in the desert.”
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Hammer described the motel, known as the Twentynine Palms property, as “kind of abandoned, rundown” and detailed how his friend offered him the chance to work on the project following Hammer’s own complaints of boredom.
“I came back from the Cayman Islands where I was during quarantine and I was like, ‘Dude, I have nothing to do,” explained Hammer. “He was like, ‘Do you wanna come live with me in this abandoned motel and do construction with me?'”
When Kimmel laughed and assumed that Hammer would have said “Of course not, that’s terrible. I’m a movie star, that’s the last thing I want to do,” Hammer humorously responded by asking “Do you think I had anything else better going on?”
“I was literally sitting at home picking boogers and seeing how far I could flick them. I was really out of options,” said Hammer.
On the subject of the actual work itself, Kimmel asked Hammer if he was familiar with the various tools used in construction, to which the actor replied “Funny enough, everything except a hammer. Just seemed too close to home.”
Hammer then added that he was “moderately handy,” but noted that “there are some power tools I should just not be trusted with.”
“It wasn’t anything like…I’m not doing electrical work – look at me,” he joked. “Would you trust me to touch wires? No way.”
The actor first revealed that he was working in construction back in August in an Instagram post featuring a photo of Ashton and himself.
“For the last 2 months or so I have lived with Ashton, worked construction with Ashton, and hiked with Ashton every day,” Hammer captioned the photo. “He has been such a good friend (and boss) and has been the most supportive friend anyone could ever ask for.”
Hammer is not the only actor who has found themselves pressed for employment options during quarantine.
Spencer Wilding, the actor who played Darth Vader in Rogue One, stated last month that “the acting has been put on hold” and revealed that he was considering returning to window-washing in order “to do something to bring the money in.”