Jonah Hill has ditched the Hollywood hub. Photo: Getty images
Actor and comedian Jonah Hill has opened up about why he and his wife, Olivia Millar, decided to ditch Los Angeles in order to raise their two kids in “a very small town” outside of the Hollywood hub – while revealing how the move has enabled him to live a much more normal, relaxed life.
Indeed, since relocating to their new home in 2023, Hill, 42, and his spouse have been able to live largely under the radar – keeping their relationship away from the headlines and instead focusing their energies on raising their two children, with the actor only revealing earlier this year that the couple was married.
Now, the actor has offered a small glimpse into their home life during a live taping of the “SmartLess” podcast on April 25, when he joined hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett for an onstage interview in his former hometown.
Jonah Hill speaks onstage during SiriusXM Presents SmartLess LIVE at Avalon Hollywood on April 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Getty Images
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Hill began by shouting out his wife, who was in the audience, telling the hosts and spectators: “So real quick, before we go any further, my wife is here. My best friend. Shout out to my beautiful wife, Liv. Where is she? Oh, what’s up, baby?” The comedian then turned his attentions to the couple’s life in San Diego, where they moved around the same time that Millar welcomed the couple’s first child.
“So I live in a very small town in San Diego, and it’s amazing, and my neighbours are incredible people, and when we had our first kid, we moved out there three years ago,” he said.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” star noted that he had wanted to ditch Los Angeles for quite some time when they finally decided to make the move – explaining that it has never been his intention to raise a family in L.A., even though that was where he grew up.
“I wanted to leave L.A. and raise a family outside of Los Angeles,” Hill said, noting that he now travels back and forth between the city and his home for work.
Jonah Hill pictured with Jonah Hill. Photo: Getty Images
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Balancing home life with his work projects will likely become more of a focus for Hill in the coming years-with the actor and producer noting that he finally feels like he’s in a place to throw himself back into the film industry with gusto, after years of struggling to find his groove.
“I’ve been gone for a while, so I’m kind of coming back, and I’m excited because I got all serious for a while and I wasn’t that happy,” Hill said. “I wasn’t happy. And then I had my family and I got happy, and now all I want to do is be funny again.”
Hill noted that the arrival of his two children with Millar played a huge role in how he feels about his career – crediting the kids with helping him to rediscover his passion for comedy.
“If you’re bummed, you don’t feel like being that funny,” he explained. “And if you’re happy, the first thing I thought about when I had my kids and was so stoked, it was like I connected to back when I was just like 12 and I was just being funny for fun. And I was like, ‘That’s the thing I fell in love with my whole life.’”
Jonah Hill in 2018. Photo: Getty Images
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Hill also took the chance to rave about his “cool” neighbours in San Diego, revealing that he has developed strong friendships with them – and noting that he appreciates how respectful they have been in allowing his family to enjoy their privacy.
He explained that he now lives next door to one of his best friends, a man he referred to only as Dr. Sean, and said that he loves the fact that he doesn’t ever feel like he’s being spied on.
“They never treat me weird or ask me about my job or anything, and my neighbour is one of my great friends, Dr. Sean, he never asked. He’s here tonight. He never bothered me or was like, ‘Oh, what’s this person like?’” he revealed.
Despite having no regrets about his move, the actor noted that Los Angeles will always hold a special place in his heart, particularly because of the memories he made while growing up there.
Jonah Hill on the SmartLess podcast. Photo: Getty Images.
“I grew up here. L.A. was such a cool place to grow up in the ’90s because you could go skateboard downtown or you could sneak into a movie premiere or you could go sneak into a comedy club and see Chris Rock or something,” Hill recalled.
He added, “You had access to show business stuff, but you had access to punk and skating and graffiti and all the naughty stuff. And there was no internet. It was just so awesome.”
Hill previously held the keys to a sprawling 3,100-square-foot Malibu home, which he listed in 2024 for $23m (US$16.7 million) – two years after he made the move to San Diego.
He purchased the four-bedroom, four-bathroom dwelling in 2022 for $21.4 million (US$15.4 million) and eventually sold the beachfront home for $20 million (US$14.5 million) in 2025.
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