Armie Hammer talks his exile from Hollywood, ‘I made these problems’

Armie Hammer is opening up about his exile from Hollywood and what his future in the industry looks like.

In a profile for The Hollywood Reporter published June 16, the “Call Me By Your Name” actor, 39, addressed his fall from grace following allegations of psychological and sexual abuse brought by several women. Hammer has denied the allegations as well as claims stemming from leaked messages that appeared to reference graphic sexual fantasies, including cannibalism.

In the interview, he opened up about the scandal that derailed his career and the fallout that followed, including being doxed. Years later, he’s aware that his public image is not clear but will keep making strides, telling the outlet, “It’s like Sisyphus pushing the boulder, except my boulder is covered in Vaseline.”

A friend asked Hammer whether he wished he could go back and undo the course of events that led to his public downfall and the actor replied, “No, honestly.”

“I remember the emotional state and the mental state I was in before all that happened. Healthy people don’t act the way I was acting,” he told the outlet. “I would have loved if I could have had an opportunity to do it in a little bit more of a gentle way. But at the end of the day — you get what you get.”

While the “Rebecca” star said that leaked texts were largely taken out of context, he admits, “I made these problems for myself.”

“This didn’t happen to me by a fluke accident. I didn’t do what people are saying I did. But I brought very dangerous and unsafe people into my life, and I pissed off people in my life — and here we are,” he said.

What is Armie Hammer up to now?

The Santa Monica, California native is returning to acting after German filmmaker Uwe Boll reached out to him in 2024 to offer him his first role in five years. “I’m pretty sure I cried,” Hammer told THR. “It was just this moment where I was like: I’m going to get to do the thing that I love more than anything — other than my children.”

He added that he would’ve been willing to do a cat food commercial if necessary.

Hammer detailed how his career has completely changed, adding that he no longer has a manager, agents, or a personal publicist. “Lately, they always say on the first day of set, ‘We can’t believe we actually got you to do this.’ And I’m like: ‘My schedule was pretty open.'”

However, he said returning to Los Angeles is different from before. “I was back in a city that felt like it used to be my city. But it had moved on without me,” he added.

He revealed that his life is now structured around his children, including 11-year-old daughter Harper and 9-year-old son Ford, from making their breakfasts to dropping them off and picking them up from school while co-parenting with ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers, who split with Hammer in 2020 following 10 years of marriage

What is Armie Hammer accused of?

Among the women who made allegations against Hammer was Courtney Vucekovich, who said she dated him for a few months in 2020 and, in a January 2021 interview with the celebrity.land’s Page Six, said the actor manipulated and abused her. After they broke up, she said she entered a 30-day partial hospitalization program geared toward those suffering from PTSD and trauma.

“He kind of captivates you, and while being charming, he’s grooming you for these things that are darker and heavier and consuming. When I say consuming, I mean mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, just everything,” she said.

Paige Lorenze, who said she had an allegedly abusive relationship with Hammer for four months in 2020, told Page Six that she’s sought therapy to process the psychological effects of their relationship. “There were red flags throughout the relationship,” she said. “I guess I just put them to the side and he made me feel so confident at times.”

In March 2021, another woman, identified only as Effie, accused the movie star of raping and beating her over a four-hour period in Los Angeles in April 2017.

“He abused me mentally, emotionally and sexually,” Effie said in tears at a news conference alongside her lawyer Gloria Allred. Effie said during the alleged attack Hammer “repeatedly slammed my head against a wall, bruising my face. He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent.”

Hammer’s attorney Andrew Brettler issued a statement at the time denying all accounts of the alleged crimes and unconventional sexual practices and said that Effie sent Hammer texts that refute her “outrageous allegations.”

“As recently as July 18, 2020, (Effie) sent graphic texts to Mr. Hammer telling him what she wanted him to do to her,” Brettler’s statement said. “Mr. Hammer responded making it clear that he did not want to maintain that type of relationship with her.”

The Los Angeles Police Department later investigated allegations of rape but later closed the case without any charges.

In 2022, Discovery+ released a three-part docuseries titled “House of Hammer,” speaking to Vucekovich, Lorenze, as well as the sister of Hammer’s dad, businessman Michael Hammer, who discussed the alleged history of abuse within her family.

Contributing: Erin Jensen, USA TODAY