Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker has been so engrossed in the roles he’s taken on that he hasn’t made much time for vacationing.
The actor, filmmaker, and social good activist briefly opened up about his vacation history as the cover star of Haute Living’s April/May 2025 issue. Whitaker, 63, shared that he’s “only taken about 10 vacations” in his entire life. The star noted that of those 10, he’s only vacationed in three countries abroad — Italy, India, and Mexico. The feature detailed that Whitaker counted five domestic car trips to visit his grandparents in his home state, Texas, as his other vacations.
“Three times to Capri. Once to India. Once to Cancún. That’s pretty much it,” Whitaker detailed on his international vacations to date. Additionally, he described the Cancún trip as “the greatest luxury I can imagine.”
What Else Did Forest Whitaker Share?
The Longview, Texas-born multihyphenate — raised in South Central Los Angeles — noted that his intense work ethic has been consuming. Whitaker explained that over his career, he prioritized work and his acting roles over rest.
“[I would tell myself] to work, but to look for joy,” he noted regarding what he’d tell his younger self. “To look for more opportunities to find joy in life. That every time [I] did something like that, [I] should celebrate it and live in the joy of it. That’s what I would say. Don’t let the work deplete your joy.”
“I’ve been monk-like, hermit-like in the way I work sometimes. So obsessed and possessed by what I’m doing that the nurturing part of Forest doesn’t happen that often,” he candidly shared. “I’d show myself in the future — if I was looking back — to enjoy, take a look around.”
“I was just obsessed with finding the core of the character and playing him to my fullest, no matter what the sacrifice. I would change that,” the Godfather of Harlem star added.
