Justin Long was born and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Long's formative years were saturated in Catholicism. He attended a Jesuit high school,[1] and worked at a Catholic university before becoming the movie star he is today.[2] Long has spoken of his conservative Catholic upbringing, particularly in regards to how his family disproves of many of the films he appears in:
My family is Roman Catholic and kind of conservative and I did this movie ,Waiting, which is a very hard R, kind of crude about waiters putting pubic hair in food and stuff, just gross stuff… [my mom] called me and said, 'I saw the movie and you were adorable but oh my God, it was awful' and she just tore the movie apart, just hated it.[3]
However, it is unclear if Long still considers himself devoted to Catholicism. My guess would be that he doesn't. He speaks of it as a part of his past, something to be dealt with in terms of his family, but no more. However, an upbringing that devout is difficult to escape psychologically. Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.
Occupy Language and Vote Squandering
Long is clearly passionate about politics, and 2012 was a banner year for him to express his passion. Long traveled the nation that year, speaking at shopping malls[4] and universities[5] to campaign for Obama.
But singing the praises of one candidate wasn't enough. He disparaged Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney, in a video sponsored by MoveOn.org, perhaps the nation's most well-endowed liberal organization.[6]
The crux of the video was essentially that Mitt Romney is heartless and wealthy. Long said of why he did it, referring to the money-hungry main character of the film, Wall Street:
Mitt Romney is our very own modern-day Gordon Gekko. I made this video because it was a chance to play a presidential candidate who is exactly the kind of guy the 99% have been protesting against.[7]
The 99%, of course, references the battle cry of the Occupy movement, often considered quite liberal. I would imagine Long is a supporter.
During election day 2012, Long took another shot at Republicans, particularly Clint Eastwood, and tweeted:
Guys, for most old rich white men the erection results are not looking great #WordsWith12YearOldFriends #vote #ClintEastwood[8]
One more interesting tidbit. Long voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 because, as he said, it was the "fashionable" thing to do.[9] He said he regretted it, that he felt he threw his vote away.[10] Perhaps this means that Long is a supporter of the two-party system in the U.S. You be the judge.
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