Bug Hall on Leaving Hollywood Behind: A 'Vow of Poverty' and Life off the Grid with His 5 Kids

The retired actor is a now barefoot father of five living off the grid, with no fame, no fortune, and a vow of poverty that stunned the internet. Scroll down see his striking evolution.

He was once the fresh-faced star who charmed the world as Alfalfa in "The Little Rascals" — but now Bug Hall has turned his back on Tinseltown and every last dollar it gave him.

In a stunning and deeply polarizing twist of fate, the former child star — real name Brandon Hall, now legally Bug Hall-Barnett — has renounced fame, fortune, and even running water, choosing instead to live as a self-declared "radical Catholic extremist" in rural Arkansas.

The 40-year-old, who once shared the screen with Hollywood elites and had a Children's Emmy nomination to his name, is now unrecognizable in lifestyle and mindset. Living in a campervan with his wife and five children, Hall has taken a "vow of poverty," donating nearly all his childhood savings and most of his worldly possessions to embrace a life completely off the grid.

Gone are the red carpets, the premieres, the spotlight. In their place? A water well, a gas-powered generator, and a dream to build his family a home from scratch within six months — without hiring a single contractor.

"My goal is to maintain a life as free of any need for an income as possible," he told Daily Mail, adding that he only takes odd jobs when absolutely necessary to cover gas and the family's $100 cellphone plan. That's it.

Once a rising star in "The Little Rascals" and "American Pie" franchises, Hall's radical transformation didn't happen overnight — but it did accelerate after his 2020 arrest for huffing air duster cans in a Texas hotel room.

Though no charges were filed, the former actor — who had reportedly been sober for 15 years — said the arrest one of the best things that ever happened to him.

"I loved making movies. I loved writing, producing, acting," he reflected. "So God had to shake me up a little harder, I suppose."

The father-of-five is now focused on building a faith-centered, self-sufficient existence, relying on homeschooling, generator power, and dreams of a hydro-electric dam to support their isolated 80-acre lifestyle outside Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Hall himself admits he was never fully at peace in Hollywood, where he says his "traditional" beliefs on abortion and gay marriage made him feel like a misfit.

Once wanderers, the Hall-Barnetts traveled across several states before settling into their Arkansas haven. They started their journey in Los Angeles, moved briefly to Texas, then lived in Michigan and Ohio — all while having more children and stripping away the remnants of their former life.

Hall says he and his wife Jill, whom he married in 2017, will "strongly discourage" their children from going to college, calling traditional education "nonsense."

His eldest daughter, just eight years old, wants to start her own convent on their land, while another child has already asked him to build a house for her and her future husband.

Online, Hall's dramatic pivot has been met with both admiration and confusion. "He's real for that," one commenter wrote. "Sensational," said another.

But not everyone was sold. "Five kids and choosing to be poor. Hmmm..." one critic questioned. Another bluntly remarked, "Five kids and he gave up all his savings. That's next level crazy right there. How does he plan on providing for them?"

Hall himself admits he was never fully at peace in Hollywood, where he says his "traditional" beliefs on abortion and gay marriage made him feel like a misfit.

He eventually walked away from the industry entirely — rejecting what he called a life of "manipulation... in how I speak to them, in the stuff that I make or produce... including myself, as an addict."

Now, Hall is garnering attention once again — not for his roles, but for his uncompromising devotion to faith and family, a bold about-face that has captivated the so-called trad Cath community.

He even changed his legal name in honor of his stepfather, Mark Barnett, who raised him — a final gesture to close the door on the glittering, conflicted world he left behind.

From Hollywood darling to holy radical, Hall's astonishing transformation is sparking debate, praise, and disbelief in equal measure.

Scroll down to catch a glimpse of his new life.

2009

1 of 10

2 of 10

2011

3 of 10

2016

4 of 10

2025

5 of 10

6 of 10

7 of 10

8 of 10

2026

9 of 10

10 of 10