Ian Somerhalder Reflects on Living on a Farm After Retiring from Acting: ‘I Love What I Did for a Really Long Time’

The former actor served as an executive producer and is one of many celebrities featured in the new environmental film "Common Ground"

Ian Somerhalder does not regret leaving Hollywood behind.

The Vampire Diaries alum, 45, reflected on his retirement from acting and move to a farm while speaking with E! News at the Los Angeles premiere of Common Ground on Thursday.

"I love what I did for a really long time," he told the outlet. "I love making films, I just did it for so long. We had an amazing run."

The documentary focuses on the need for sustainable and eco-friendly farming and interviews multiple celebrities, including Somerhalder, Jason Momoa, Demi Moore, and Laura Dern.

The V Wars actor also served as an executive producer with his wife, Nikki Reed, who spoke to the outlet about the film's impact.

Related: Jason Momoa, Laura Dern and More Call for a Regenerative Food System in 'Common Ground' Trailer (Exclusive)

"When you see the way that nature operates, you find compassion," the Twilight alum, 35, said. "It's a beautiful thing to see what's happening with children, to watch them participate in the growing of their food and the understanding of what food is and where it comes from." The couple are parents to a daughter, Bodhi Soleil, 6, and announced the birth of their son in June.

The film serves as a follow-up to Josh and Rebecca Tickell's 2020 documentary Kiss the Ground, which Somerhalder also participated in and reflected on while speaking to PEOPLE at the premiere.

"Kiss the Ground took us seven years to make, so this was even prior to having children. I shot the initial footage of Kiss the Ground -- the Africa stuff -- in Zimbabwe with Allan Savory 13 years ago almost. So this has been something that we have known needs to happen," he told PEOPLE.

Related: See Demi Moore, Jason Momoa and More at the L.A. Premiere of Common Ground

Somerhalder echoed similar sentiments while encouraging his fans to watch Common Ground in a recent Instagram post.

"This film will change your life. Forever. How? Because you’ll see first hand that REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURAL can solve so many of our scary global problems AND we have a clear SOLUTION and PLAN to balance our climate while building robust economies. Win. Win. Win. The solution has been under our feet the whole time," his post read.

Somerhalder told PEOPLE that sharing his passion for the outdoors with his children is one of his favorite things to do when asked what his perfect day off consists of.

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"Just walking around my farm with my family, feeding the animals. We have goats, chickens, horses and cows. Those are the days you realize are meaningful," he told PEOPLE in October.

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Read the original article on People.