Eisenberg Won't Flee: Actor Chooses New York Over Political Exodus

When the conversation turns to celebrities abandoning ship, Jesse Eisenberg is planting his feet firmly on American soil.

At the 60th Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, where the 42-year-old actor and director received the President’s Award, Eisenberg made his position crystal clear: politics won’t be his compass for where he calls home. Asked whether he felt a responsibility to stay in New York City amid President Donald Trump’s second term, Eisenberg didn’t hedge.“I am a very lucky American,”he told the crowd.“I have a nice life. My wife is a teacher, and she teaches a lot of students who are not as lucky as we are. I think we feel, if anything, a responsibility to stay in New York and help those who are struggling through a tougher period in American history.”

The stance is particularly interesting given that Eisenberg made headlines in 2024 when he applied for dual U.S.-Polish citizenship. At the time, amid the contentious presidential race between then-president Joe Biden and Trump, Eisenberg explained the move to local outlet Glos Wielkpolski:“I applied for Polish citizenship about nine months ago. Apparently, all the paperwork has already been submitted and I’m waiting for the final signature.”He pointed to his family roots—his relatives are from the southeast of Poland, from Krasnystaw, and his wife Anna Strout’s family hails from Łódź. The application wasn’t a political escape route, though. Eisenberg credited his 2024 film A Real Pain, which he directed and starred in, as the catalyst. He wanted to deepen his connection to Poland and work there more frequently, describing the desire to repeat the transformative experience of making that award-winning project.

“I feel a bond with Poland,”he said at the time.“Growing up, I heard stories about Polish relationships with my Jewish family, and all of those stories were wonderful. We were best friends with Poles.”

His decision to stay contrasts sharply with other high-profile names who’ve chosen differently. Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi moved to the U.K. after Trump’s election win. Rosie O’Donnell, who also relocated overseas, told Us Weekly she was taken aback by DeGeneres’s political reasoning:“I’ve never really known Ellen to say anything political in her life, so I was surprised to read that she left because of President Trump.”Mark Hamill even considered moving to London or Ireland following the reelection.

But Eisenberg’s calculus is rooted in something simpler and more grounded.“No, I’m not going to leave because I don’t like the politics of America. That seems a little silly, because my life is very good,”he said. For him, privilege carries obligation—not to flee, but to show up where help is needed most.