Celebrities are a different species in a lot of ways, but sometimes, they’re just like the rest of us. In their time off, they like to do something just for fun.
So whether you get your kicks from skydiving or collecting comic books, there’s probably a star you can relate to. You never know — you might even be inspired to spend your next free Sunday trying something a little different.
Check out these celebrities who have weird and wonderful hobbies.
Brad Pitt Makes Pottery
After striking up a solid bromance on the set of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio have been bonding over their new interest in pottery. The Sun reported that the A-list actors love to hang out at Pitt’s sculpting studio, “creating art until the early hours.”
Apparently, Pitt is also partial to a spot of knitting. According to The Telegraph, he took up the hobby in 2008, the year he and Angelina Jolie welcomed their twins Knox and Vivienne. Baby booties, anyone?
Rosario Dawson Is A Trekkie
She’s nurse Claire Temple in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Rosario Dawson’s connection to comic books doesn’t end there. She attends Comic-Con for fun and has contributed to comic book projects: she’s a co-creator for Image’s Occult Task Force, a mini-series about police officers who investigate magical crimes. But Dawson geeks out the most over Star Trek, even using a little Klingon vocab in her daily life.
Julia Roberts Knits (And Makes Others Do It, Too)
Julia Roberts has the perfect hobby for passing long hours on a movie set: knitting. In fact, she’s such an avid knitter that she’s inspired some of her fellow actors, such as “August: Osage County” co-star Julianne Nicholson, to pick up the needles too.
“She got me to put together a sweater I had put down 10 years ago,” Nicholson told People. “She makes you feel like you’ve got to finish something.”
John Lennon Collected Stamps
John Lennon was a noted philatelist (stamp collector) from childhood. In 2016, his personal collection went on display at the World Stamp Show in New York, following a residency at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. And in 2018, the former Beatle got a commemorative U.S. postage stamp of his own. A sheet of the stamps was designed to look like a 45-inch vinyl single, with a record peeking out of a sleeve at the top of the 16-stamp sheet. They’re still available at the Post Office’s online store.
Nicole Kidman Jumps Out Of Planes
Nicole Kidman is a secret daredevil.
“I have my skydiving license,” she told Marie Claire, adding that she recommends every woman jumps out of a plane at least once in her lifetime.
“Skydiving is the closest thing to flying,” she told The Telegraph. However, Kidman has no desire to bungee-jump. “It’s not elegant,” she said. “I don’t like the idea of being on a cord and hanging upside down.”
Taylor Swift Makes Snow Globes
Friends of Taylor Swift can expect some pretty cute (and very personal) holiday gifts. The singer is a big fan of snow globes, and every holiday season she takes the time to make her own. She told Seventeen that she makes her snow globes out of mason jars, antique Christmas trinkets and glitter.
“I found out how to do it on Pinterest,” she revealed. “It made for a lovely winter activity day. Making snow globes made me feel like a little kid again!”
Rod Stewart Build Model Railways
When it comes to Rod Stewart’s passion for model railways, you could go as far as calling it an obsession. The singer even made a film about the 100-foot model railway he built (a 1:87 scale model of New York’s Grand Central Station), regularly takes his model trains on tour with him, and even books a second hotel room solely for his hobby.
“All my cases come in and they set up tables and lamps and it becomes my workshop. I do it on the road,” he revealed.
Cameron Diaz Snowboards
It’s no secret that Cameron Diaz is an adrenaline junkie. She surfs and snowboards. When a movie she’d signed on to changed its script and the actors she’d play opposite of, she shrugged off the loss of work, telling W magazine, “I wasn’t really looking to work anyway. It’s almost snowboarding season.” And she’s apparently committed to improving her technique: Vail Daily reported that she took several lessons a year from a local instructor.
Tom Hanks Collects Vintage Typewriters
Tom Hanks has a collection of around 250 vintage typewriters, as he revealed in “California Typewriter,” a documentary about people who carry on working with the largely obsolete machines. Hanks even wrote a book of short stories that featured a typewriter in each one.
“The tactile pleasure of typing old school is incomparable to what you get from a de rigueur laptop,” he enthused in the New York Times about his passion.
Shailene Woodley Forages Wild Foods
Shailene Woodley hates GMOs so much that she forages for her own food and herbs. Where her food comes from is important to the “Big Little Lies” star.
“I gather my own spring water from mountains every month. I go to a farm to get my food. I make everything from my own toothpaste to my own body lotions and face oil,” she told Flaunt. “I could go on for hours. I make my own medicines; I don’t get those from doctors. I make my own cheese and forage wild foods and identify wild plants. It’s an entire lifestyle. It’s appealing to my soul.
Susan Sarandon Plays Ping Pong
What started as a passion for ping pong developed into a whole new business venture for Susan Sarandon. The actor opened a bar/restaurant/”ping pong social club” dedicated to the sport in New York in 2009. She opened Chicago’s SPiN Ping Pong, which hosts 20 ping pong tables, in 2016.
Quentin Tarantino Loves Board Games
There’s no danger of getting bored at Quentin Tarantino’s dinner parties. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the filmmaker showed the reporter his impressive collection of board games inspired by television and movies. He mentioned that “The Dukes of Hazzard” is a particularly good game.
Nick Offerman Makes Anything Out Of Wood
When Nick Offerman isn’t acting (his most famous role is Ron Swanson on “Parks and Recreation”), he focuses on his other business: woodworking. Offerman owns his own woodworking shop in Los Angeles, custom-making everything from beds to birdhouses. His most interesting custom request was a wooden canoe for David Letterman, but he had to turn it down as he was so busy with acting commitments. However, he told Vanity Fair that he made Letterman a gift of a custom paddle instead.
Jennifer Garner Plays The Saxophone
Jennifer Garner’s love of baking is common knowledge, but one of her rather more interesting hobbies is playing the saxophone. During a shoot for Vanity Fair magazine, Garner performed “Mary Had A Little Lamb” on her instrument (but lamented the loss of her childhood instrument, “Sally the Sexy Saxophone”). In 2018, Garner serenaded Reese Witherspoon on her birthday in a marching band uniform.
David Arquette Is The King Of Crochet
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It seems that David Arquette could give Julia Roberts a run for her money when it comes to knitting. Arquette learned to knit with his grandmother when he was a kid, and he’s so good he was even chosen for the cover of “Celebrity Scarves 2: Hollywood Knits for Breast Cancer Research.” Inside the book, Arquette revealed his favorite scarf patterns.
Leslie Mann Unicycles Like A Pro
If you’ve ever hopped on a unicycle, you’ll know how hard it is to stay upright on one wheel. But it’s no bother for Leslie Mann. The “This Is 40” star has been practicing since childhood, and classes it as her “best hidden secret talent.”
“I got one for Christmas when I was 10 and taught myself how to use it. Now I can do all kinds of tricks, like cycling backward and jumping off curbs,” she told O Magazine.
Will Smith Fences With Celebrity Pals
When Will Smith has some down-time, he fences. But not with just any old fencers. His team buddies of choice are none other than Tom Cruise and David Beckham.
“Tom has a room for training. We don’t get enough time for hanging out, just us three guys, so this is his way of getting together and bonding,” Smith told the Daily Mail. “It’s a lot of fun. We wanted an activity that was strenuous, but we’re getting older — we have to think about slowing down. We’ve got to watch our joints. Especially my knee… Ow.”
Angelina Jolie Collects Daggers
One of Angelina Jolie’s hobbies is a controversial one. In 2008, the star told W Magazine that she collects daggers, which her mom introduced her to when she was a kid, and that she has passed the hobby on to her son, Maddox.
“My mom took me to buy my first daggers when I was 11 or 12 and I’ve already bought Maddox some things. We take him to a special shop. We also talk about samurais and about the idea of defending someone as good. We talk about everything,” she said. Jolie added that the knives she bought for Maddox, then age 7, had blunt edges so that he couldn’t hurt himself.
Richard Branson Loves To Kitesurf
When billionaire businessman Richard Branson needs to get out of the boardroom, he goes kitesurfing. The Virgin Group founder told Surfer Today that he learned the sport on Necker Island — which he owns — in 2002.
“It was lethally dangerous,” he said. “When you fell you’d be dragged underwater 100 feet, and you prayed you didn’t hit a reef.” And Branson’s not the only one to brave the surf. Even President Barack Obama couldn’t resist giving kitesurfing a go when he and his family vacationed on Necker Island in 2017.
Dick Costolo Is A Beekeeper
Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is passionate about beekeeping. In 2015, he told Bloomberg’s Emily Chang that he spends a lot of time watching the bees.
“The whole way the hive works, and what’s going on, and the crazy stuff that happens as the seasons change, and the way they build and everything is fascinating,” he said.
Liam Neeson Goes Fly Fishing
To escape Hollywood “nonsense,” Liam Neeson goes fly fishing. He’s so serious about the pastime that he’s even taken lessons.
“There’s a program called ‘Fly Fishing the World’ and I’ve done about five of them,” he said. “The last one I did was in New Zealand for about ten days, and I brought my best friend. We had two cameras up our noses the entire time, but they’re great fun.”
Johnny Depp Is Into Barbie Dolls
Barbie is probably the last person you’d associate with Johnny Depp, but it turns out that the actor is a big fan of Mattel’s iconic blonde. But his collection of Barbie dolls — which started when his daughter Lily-Rose was young — served another purpose. He used to test out characters’ voices while they played. Until Lily-Rose grew tired of it, that is.
“She basically — one day we were playing Barbies — decided to just go, ‘Daddy, just do a normal Barbie… like cut out the voices,'” he said. “And that was the day I stopped playing Barbies with her.” However, Depp didn’t let the dolls go. “I’ve got a lot of Barbies in storage,” he admitted.
Katy Perry Collects Celebrity Hair
Creepy collector’s item coming up … Katy Perry used to have locks of Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift’s hair in her purse. During a fan Q&A, Perry explained that she asked for a lock of hair from each of them — something she admitted “is totally creepy, but awesome.” We’re still waiting for Perry to reveal what other stars she’s taken hairy mementos from.
Fernando Alonso Creates Magic
World Champion driver and amateur magician Fernando Alonso likes to entertain his Formula One colleagues on the circuit with conjuring tricks, including impressive multiple three-card sleights of hand. The speedy Spaniard takes every opportunity to show off his skills to the media and fans alike. There must be something about Formula One and magic — Alonso’s fellow world champion Nigel Mansell is a fully-fledged member of the Magic Circle.
Vin Diesel Is A D&D Nerd
Vin Diesel is such a famous fan of the fantasy tabletop roleplay game “Dungeons & Dragons” that he was asked to write the foreword to a book celebrating the game (“30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons”). In the movie “xXx,” Diesel had a fake tattoo of his character’s name, Melkor, on his chest. Apparently, he even taught Dame Judi Dench how to play the game on the set of “The Chronicles of Riddick.”
