Celebrities Who Hunt: 8 Actors, Musicians, and Athletes

Stars... they're just like us—at least some of them—when it comes to getting outdoors.

When it comes to rugged outdoor activities like hunting, the first people who come to mind are... probably not celebrities in Hollywood. But you might be surprised to learn that for as many that might be vegan-leaning, there are also those stars who recognize where their food comes from and not only enjoy the challenge of hunting and fishing, but also the joy of being out in nature.

Some of these folks we knew about, a few might seem obvious, and then there are a few who really threw us for a loop!

Read on to find out which stars are surprising hunting enthusiasts and lovers of the outdoors.

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Eva Longoria

Long before she was earning Golden Globe and SAG nominations for her role as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, she was toting a gun around her family's ranch outside Corpus Christi, Texas.

She learned to shoot at age four, went on hunting expeditions with her father starting at age six and learned how to skin everything from deer to rabbits and even snakes. "I can handle a gun...I could skin a deer, I could skin a pig. I can pluck a quail - you name it, I've done it. A pioneer woman," she once told Oprah. She even went on to open a female-focused steakhouse (alas, it failed).

Shaquille O'Neal

When he's not trading barbs with Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA, you might find one of the NBA's greatest centers of all time out in the woods bagging eight-pointers or going mountain goat hunting in the San Bernardino Mountains. He picked up the hobby back when he was still playing for the Lakers, taking a hunting safety course and getting properly licensed. Hilariously, he's referred to his goat and wild boar hunts as "Shaqfaris."

Chris Pratt

An avid elk hunter, The Guardians of the Galaxy star has faced some scrutiny for his sportsmen lifestyle. He was roasted for an entirely false statement where he supposedly said he was OK letting meat go to waste after hunting because he just likes to kill animals. He also faced tremendous backlash for merely admitting he liked hunting during a movie junket a few years ago. But he told the Guardian, "I have a great deal of respect for the animals that I kill and I feel remorse and all of the emotions that come with it.... The thing inside me that drives me to go out and hunt is very animal. But the remorse, emotion and respect I feel, and the closeness to God that I feel when I'm out there, is my humanity."

The actor became, as he put it, "obsessed" with the pastime while living in Utah filming a TV show. He also enjoys fishing, and when not busy on location, you'll find him home on his ranch in Washington State.

Avril Lavigne

Despite looking less like a typical hunter than nearly anyone else on this list, the "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" pop-punk princess has said hunting is one of her favorite things to do. In fact, she may owe her fame to the hobby - her first manager was impressed reading an Entertainment Weekly interview in which the then 14-year old talked about growing up hunting with her brother and dad in their small Ontario, Canada town of Napanee.

Joe Perry

PETA gave Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry some grief back when he revealed his love of gun collecting and hunting to Outdoor Life, but for all the wrong reasons-Perry eats what he harvests and never hunts endangered species. Even his wife and kids hunt and eat wild game hunted around his property in New Hampshire. He told the magazine in 2009, "I don't shoot anything that I don't eat. Hunters are conservationists and their heads are in the right place. ... (Hunting) really gives you a great opportunity to keep in touch with reality. Meat just doesn't show up at the supermarket in Saran Wrap."

Even singer Steven Tyler gets into the act. He's an outdoorsman as well, and during their rare down time the bandmates go shooting or bass fishing in places like North Carolina. Perry's also hunted with Ted Nugent, from whom he says he always learns something new.

Kid Rock

Born Bob Ritchie to a wealthy family in Michigan, the self-taught rap-rocker and gun collector owns homes in California, Michigan and an estate in lower Alabama, where he goes hunting for wild hogs with Hank Williams Jr., his friend and neighbor.

In 2020, Rock set Twitter on fire with an answer to Lady Gaga's tweet mocking "rednecks" and wearing camo. Rock hilariously responded with a photo of him wearing camo with an elk he'd shot, saying, "In case you kids were wondering what camo is really worn for..."

Joe Rogan

The comedian is a master of reinvention, parlaying stand-up comedy and sitcom success into a TV hosting career convincing people to eat cow eyeballs and shaving their heads on Fear Factor, then becoming a popular UFC host and podcaster. He picked up hunting as a hobby in 2012 at the age of 45 and goes out with experts he now calls friends, like Steven Rinella and Cameron Hanes. He believes in eating what you kill and butchers, cooks, and eats his own meat - organs and all.

Eliza Dushku

You might remember her as frenemy Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, as well as starring on the series Tru Calling, but would you ever have pegged her as a hunter? Not only does Dushku hunt, she talked about killing a deer on Christmas day and demonstrated her bow skills on Jimmy Kimmel's show. She also revealed she was out hunting elk when she landed the lead role on the short-lived series Dollhouse.

PETA wasn't happy about her boasts, and even her mother called her out. After being compared to a serial killer in the media, she no longer discusses her hobby but did say, "I've only ever hunted to eat what I kill. I think that's the right way to do things.... I'm a liberal from New England. I grew up an animal lover. I like the mechanics of some weapons and guns."

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NEXT: STEVEN RINELLA BREAKS DOWN THE FLAWS OF FAMOUS HUNTING SCENES IN MOVIES