“Being on a smartphone all day wouldn’t be very useful for me.”

Actors and artists on staying offline to do their best work.

October 2026 · 3 min read

You might expect people whose careers run on attention to live on their phones. Some of the most successful have gone the other way.

Christopher Nolan: no smartphone, no email

The director of “Inception” and “Oppenheimer” doesn’t carry a smartphone or use email. He explained why to The Hollywood Reporter in 2023:

“If I’m generating my material and writing my own scripts, being on a smartphone all day wouldn’t be very useful for me.” Christopher Nolan · The Hollywood Reporter, 2023, as reported by ET

He described it as a question of how much distraction he lets into his day, not a statement against technology.

Selena Gomez: the most followed person, logging off

In 2017, Selena Gomez was the most followed person on Instagram. She told Vogue what that felt like:

“As soon as I became the most followed person on Instagram, I sort of freaked out. It had become so consuming to me. It’s what I woke up to and went to sleep to.” Selena Gomez · Vogue, April 2017 cover story, as reported by Refinery29

Vogue reported that she no longer had the app on her phone and had handed the account to an assistant. She kept the audience and gave up the scrolling.

Christopher Walken: never had one

Christopher Walken has said he doesn’t own a cellphone and has never sent an email, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal reported by People.

The pattern

None of them quit their work or their audience. They removed the part that took their mornings, their nights and their attention, and kept the part that mattered.

You don’t have to give up your phone to do the same. Decide which apps get your time, and when.