The Dos Equis Don Juan: ‘Most Interesting Man in the World’ Actually A Pretty Interesting Guy

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When it comes to interesting people, it looks like it takes one to know one.

The New Yorker spent some time with the actor who plays The Most Interesting Man in the World in the iconic Dos Equis commercials. Museums might not let him “touch the art” in real life, but it turns out he’s still rather interesting.

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First of all, that accent is fake. The actor’s name is Jonathan Goldsmith, and he’s from the Bronx.

He had stints as a network marketer, a waterless-car-wash entrepreneur and, he says, in competition with actors like Dustin Hoffman. Before these commercials, Goldsmith, 72, had countless “that guy” roles, where he typically played someone who got killed. He lives aboard a houseboat with his wife, who serves as his agent and got him the Dos Equis gig. The New Yorker reporter followed him to a boat show, where he did not buy a boat, but did inquire about buying a dog.

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Is this man for real? NewsFeed can’t tell. Some of Goldsmith’s quotes seem straight out of Anchorman. “I love the old philosophers,” he said. “I have a large library. I love to cut wood.”

He plans to retire to Vermont with his wife, in a house we presume will have many leather-bound books and smell like rich mahogany. (via New Yorker)