Paul Wesley (full name Paweł Tomasz Wasilewski) went vegan over a decade ago, citing his compassion toward animals, and he has been a powerful advocate for avoiding animal products ever since. He initially became known for his acting role in The Vampire Diaries, and subsequently went on to direct and then produce the series. He has appeared in a variety of movies, including Mother’s Day, Convergence, and The Baytown Outlaws. More recently, he joined the cast of the CBS series Tell Me a Story.
The news of his vegan diet became public when he co-hosted the Humane Society of United States’ H-Couture 2012 event, a fashion show that features vegan designers. Since then, he has been seen attending a variety of animal-rights events hosted by Mercy for Animals and other organizations to help spread the word about veganism and the need for better treatment of animals.
Mortal Kombat actor and model, Ludi Lin, needs to keep fit for his role as the popular hero, Liu Kang. The 33 year-old Chinese-Canadian actor is proficient in the martial arts and works out daily to maintain his fitness and skills.
He also been following a vegan diet for the past 5 years. He’s noticed how nutrition is important for him to stay healthy, although he’s been interested in the idea of a vegan diet since he was a youth. He explained his philosophy in a recent Men’s Health article:
“Eating plant-based and staying away from animal products is something I think is inevitable because it’s good for the Earth, it’s good for my body. I feel good about it because animals are cute and also it’s the only thing that’s sustainable.”
He eats his largest meal of the day after his workout. He is fortunate to have a personal chef who creates full meals including mushrooms, pasta, vegetables, and dessert. High protein snacks are often based on hemp protein powder with peanut butter, sweetened with stevia, though he also likes to have a lot of vegetables, with a particular liking for roasted pumpkin.
Movie star Woody Harrelson has long been a passionate advocate for going vegan. He’s kept his vegan diet for 30 years and continues to remain outspoken about the environment, sustainability, animal rights, and the health benefits of plant-based eating. So it wasn’t so surprising when he had an impact on young actors around him, who are inspired to give a vegan diet a try. One such actor was 18-year old Sadie Sink, whom he met while filming The Glass Castle five years ago.
“I’d always told myself I could never go vegan,” Sink said. “I’m from Texas, my family are big meat-eaters. But, I decided I was going to give it a shot and I went ahead and did it. I made the switch almost five years ago, after I worked with Woody Harrelson on a movie,” she recently revealed in an interview with Glamour.com
She explained that Harrelson made it sound easy based on his experience, and she says she was surprised at just how easy the switch could be.
“He’s a very passionate vegan and his entire family is vegan as well, so by spending time with them, I was able to learn that a vegan lifestyle is totally doable and it’s not as hard as it may seem,” Sink said. (Harrelson is married to Laura Louie and they have three kids.) “It’s definitely something I still have to work on. You make mistakes in the beginning, but you just learn as you go.”
Sadie Sink
Sadie, who has subsequently had roles in Stranger Things, the documentary Dominion, and Fear Street 2 among others, repeatedly champions a variety of vegan skin-care products, telling her fans the benefits for skin health as well as the importance of separating consumer products from animal industries.
When Sink and Harrelson promote their vegan or plant-based lifestyles to millions of fans, the fact that they are both Texans and continue to break down stereotypes, they set new examples on how easy it is to adopt a plant-based or vegan diet no matter where you are from or what your family traditions have been.
It’s all the rage to be vegan in Hollywood these days, so much so that it’s hard to keep up with who’s vegan or vegetarian and who’s not, as various actors and actresses go veg. Many of them have made public statements over the years on why a veg’n diet is important to them, so we thought we’d collect a few:
Casey Afleck:
“When people ask me why I don’t eat meat or any other animal products, I say, ‘Because they are unhealthy and they are the product of a violent and inhumane industry.”
Alec Baldwin:
“Every time we sit down to eat, we make a choice: Please choose vegetarianism. Do it for animals. Do it for the environment and do it for your health.”
Jessica Chastain:
“I don’t want to torture anything. … it’s about trying to live a life where I’m not contributing to the cruelty in the world. … While I am on this planet, I want everyone I meet to know that I am grateful they are here.”
Peter Dinklage:
“I love animals. All animals. I wouldn’t hurt a cat or a dog — or a chicken, or a cow. And I wouldn’t ask someone else to hurt them for me. That’s why I’m a vegetarian.”
Woody Harrelson:
“Initially, it was an energetic pursuit, but eventually I did develop a deep compassion for animals. I’d eat a burger, and want to go to sleep. I started for energy. And it has served me well. ”
Ellen Page:
‘Why are vegans made fun of while the inhumane factory farming process regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit?’
Natalie Portman:
“Everyone has to find what is right for them, and it is different for everyone. Eating for me is how you proclaim your beliefs three times a day. That is why all religions have rules about eating. Three times a day, I remind myself that I value life and do not want to cause pain to or kill other living beings. That is why I eat the way I do.”
Alicia Silverstone:
“Nothing’s changed my life more. I feel better about myself as a person, being conscious and responsible for my actions and I lost weight and my skin cleared up and I got bright eyes and I just became stronger and healthier and happier. Can’t think of anything better in the world to be but be vegan.”
Hunger Games star, Liam Hemsworth, says he now leads a vegan lifestyle and has even convinced his big brother to eat more veggies.
Liam says, “I constantly get questions like, ‘How do you get your protein?’ and ‘How do you feel?”. Hemsworth goes on to say, “There are no negatives to eating like this. I feel nothing but positive, mentally and physically. I love it. I feel like it also has a kind of a domino effect on the rest of my life.”
Jessica Chastain:
