The Celebrity Activism Slump Hasn’t Gotten to Adam Brody

If a curly-haired, vaguely familiar-looking guy knocked on your door this weekend asking for your political opinions, and you happen to live in the city of Temecula, California, that guy was actor Adam Brody. The O.C. and Nobody Wants This star has been volunteering for progressive organizers Swing Left since 2018, but whether or not he gets recognized when he’s knocking on doors depends on the district, he says.“I wasn't [recognized] this weekend, but I don't blame them. They're good people nonetheless,” Brody says. Then he adds: “That was a joke. I do blame them. I actually think they’re bad for not knowing me.”A television star going door-to-door feels rather anomalous for 2026. In the mid-2010s, when the rise of Donald Trump and social media sparked several social movements, celebrity political activism was the norm. (Lest we forget Emily Ratajkowski’s 2018 arrest for protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.) But Hollywood, once among the loudest voices in the battle for gender equality and racial justice, is noticeably quieter these days.Many celebrities appear to be questioning their own efficacy as political messengers as we approach a midterm election likely to hinge on the price of groceries and gas. And in the face of structural changes like the highly-contested Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery merger, some are undoubtedly weighing the imperative to speak out against the potential professional downside in an industry tacking to the right. Brody’s own politics haven’t come up in the wave of press that has followed his beloved portrayal of “hot rabbi” Noah Roklov in Netflix’s Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated series Nobody Wants This, for which he received a Critics Choice Award last year. But for GQ, Brody is down to talk politics. Over Zoom, he unpacks why stars soured on advocacy, the perks of being off social media, and what he learned knocking on the doors of ordinary Temuculans.GQ: Celebrity political advocacy has hit a slump. Do you have any thoughts on why that is?Adam Brody: I do. I think it's the cycle. The first time Trump was elected, it was inconceivable. It woke everyone. There was so much activism. People were running for office that had never ran before. It was so awful to watch him defile our government, our country, our reputation, and really pit people against each other. I felt like most of the country right away was really against it.It felt very safe to step out against him in the first presidency. The second time, the presidency was more powerful. Corporations were lining up behind him like they hadn't before. People had to risk more to get in front of it. It just felt like the mood wasn't there. The country decided this is the way it wants to go. As we start to pick up steam for this election, it's getting exciting again. We're starting to feel powerful again.I heard you were knocking on doors this weekend. Tell me about it.I went to Temecula in northern San Diego—which is a newly created swing district, based on the redistricting that happened a few months ago. That community, whether they know it or not, is all of a sudden in a swing situation where it's a really critical race.I've done some canvassing with Swing Left for a fairly long time now. This is my first time doing their newest version, the Ground Truth campaign, where it really is much more about listening and eliciting the opinions of those you're coming into contact with and relaying that information back to the campaigns than it is about foisting literature on people.What's coming up for voters there?Well, everything. Deep down, I think we all have the same concerns, but I think that I share prescriptions with a lot of the Democratic voters I met. And then some of the Republicans…I would say I have my own election fears in terms of election security, but it's not from the same cause that some of them feel it is. I will say this: Nobody seems to like the direction the country's going in.AI, data centers, inflation, the environment—were there any issues that emerged as a top concern?100% prices. The Democrats I met weren't leading with that, but were leading more with the Constitution, civil liberties. But then again, I met some Republicans who say the Constitution is under attack.How long have you been doing political advocacy work?The first canvas I did with Swing Left was in 2018 for the midterms in Laguna Beach. I participated in a somewhat national, but certainly local effort to flip a seat that Dana Rohrabacher used to have. And I did some campaigning in 2008—I got involved early in the century.I remember when I really awoke politically, it was the Bush/Gore election, and then 9/11 happened eight months later. I remember thinking that morning: “It’s not so good to have a moron in charge.” And while I do think he's a lot more civil and honorable a person than who we have leading the government now, I don't think he's sharp, not to mention I just disagree with his politics. But I thought, A bad thing happened and we have a bad leader. We're still paying for that 25 years later.Do you feel like Hollywood's gotten more conservative?I guess outspokenly so, yes. Again, as one side has more power, it makes sense that it draws people to it for all the human reasons that would be attractive: groupthink, your own well-being, your own money and success.Everyone kind of liked Obama, mostly. I wasn't looking under the hood too much, but you considered everyone to be like-minded. Between COVID, a second Trump term, Israel-Gaza, it's really brought out some different beliefs that I was ignorant to, and then disheartened by.A defining voter concern in the Democratic primaries has been candidates’ stance on Israel-Gaza, as you mentioned. How is that coming up in your messaging?Truthfully, it hasn't. I have spoken a lot about it privately. I haven't spoken much about it publicly.Would you care to speak about it publicly?Put me down as thinking it's a genocide. Put me down as wanting a free Palestine. It's awful that it's taken so much death and misery, but it does feel like it's reaching a breaking point that it should have a while ago. I'm hopeful that another administration can really do some good and correct some of these policies that are helping that situation be as awful as it is.You have this renewed attention on you for the success of Nobody Wants This, and you're actively engaging with the community politically, but you aren’t on social media—are you tempted to change that in order to reach a wider audience?No. I think being off social media has been the healthiest thing. I'm forced to use a lot of tools and products where I don't believe in the heads of those companies, but I'm sure as shit not going to be on anything that Elon Musk is a part of. I know people are doing really good work on [X], and I'm really glad about that. But it's not for me, and I don't have any guilt about not being on it. Sorry, I feel great about it.Your advocacy doesn't really come up on red carpets and on award stages. Why is that?I just answer the questions I'm asked. And it's true. I'm not wearing a pin, so I'm not inviting a certain question, and perhaps I should. I really admire people who do. But 99% of what I'm asked about is about the show. I'm not trying to plead ignorance—here we are doing a political interview, so it makes sense that we wade into this territory—but I've never ducked a question, really, not a political question anyway.How are you processing the themes of masculinity that are so prevalent in politics right now?I think it's fucking ridiculous. In terms of the Trump manosphere, it's been really bad for the country, bad for society. The worst people have the most power, and seem popular. I'm excited for this tide to turn. It doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't think it's cool or funny.As an adult white man, reflection and growth is important. You probably shouldn't think exactly how you did in 1996. That's a bad thing, if you haven't evolved at all.I have a girl and I have a boy. In many ways they seem typical. I see how my son loves to make war. He loves everything as a weapon and how he and his friends play together is very different from my daughter. I have that in me, too. There’s a powerful force inside us, as men, that can find a healthy outlet. Sports are pretty good for that in many ways.James Talarico has been saying this: “Being a man is helping your neighbor. And my dad would mow our neighbor's lawn.” I think that’s great. And again, I enjoy combat sports. I think you can be super macho and cool, too.