Oliver Hudson has had a lengthy career in show business and is related to some of the film industry’s finest — Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson — but he has more in common with Us than you might think.
Oliver, 49, sat down with Us Weekly’s editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford for the inaugural Just Like Us video series and proved that even Hollywood’s most notable names can be open and down-to-earth. The revelations stemmed from his fears of Hollywood, the growing relationship with his biological dad, Bill Hudson, and details about his very active sex life with his wife, Erinn Bartlett.
While Oliver’s swoon-worthy looks have stood the test of time, he has no ego, no attitude — and no issue getting candid, even detailing the trauma he’s experienced through anxiety and debilitating panic attacks.
“I think I can help a lot of people by telling my story,” he told Us — but more on that in a second.
On the heels of his iconic appearance in Happy Gilmore 2 earlier this year, Oliver is currently hosting Magnolia Network and Food Network’s Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition (airs Mondays at 9 p.m.). As someone whose family is “very much into Christmas,” becoming the host of a holiday-themed show was a no-brainer for Oliver.
“I watch baking shows,” he said. “It was the perfect fit.”
Hosting is “something that I had wanted to do for a while,” Oliver shared, telling Us that he “manifested” this sweet role. While the gingerbread houses looked good enough to eat, Oliver did not actually sample any of the “architectural masterpieces” on the show. (Behind-the-scenes scoop alert!)
“It is artwork. It’s not necessarily, like, let me crack that off and eat it,” he explained, noting that the show was surprisingly emotional and even left him “weepy” on three separate occasions because the contestants “care so much” about their craft.
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As he heads into 2026, Oliver is gearing up for his milestone 50th birthday. But he has no expectations for the next decade of his life. He’s just hoping to “stop giving a s***.”
Hey, he’s only human … or Just Like Us. Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations from Oliver’s Just Like Us interview or watch the full episode above:
Hudson Family Holidays Go ‘Off the Rails’ — And Goldie Hawn Still Does the Dishes
There may be multiple A-listers in the room when the extended Hawn-Hudson-Russell clan gathers in Aspen, Colorado, for the holiday season but there’s a lot of fun, old-fashioned “chaos” to go around. While everyone pitches in, Hawn refuses to let anyone else do the dishes.
“She’s so funny. I’m like, ‘Mom, let me do it. Let me take care of it,’” Oliver told Us. “The idea is, if you cook, then you don’t clean.”
Christmas Eve, specifically, is “big” for the entire family.
“That’s when we do the tree, lights, ornaments. Christmas music is on, and kids are back from skiing. It’s got that log-cabin, old-school vibe,” he explained. “Light the fire and do The Night Before Christmas.”
They choose which member of the family will read the book on that night and “sometimes it goes way off the rails” — depending on how much the narrator had to drink.
“Whoever’s gonna play Santa has to run out into the backyard, [and] once ‘[Happy] Christmas to all, and to all a good night’ is read, we’re done. Boom,” Oliver explained. “The kids go to this bay window, and you hear [sleigh] bells. He’s running as a silhouette, and the kids are freaking out, screaming. That has been in our family for 40 years. It’s just fun to watch this whole thing continue [and] become generational.”
The Moment Oliver Hudson Decided to Move Out of His Parents’ House
If you ask Oliver, he was late to the acting game. Getting started in his 20s posed a different set of challenges, but he has never resented his family — or the doors opened by their fame.
“Yes, you get the foot in the door, but those expectations, they’re raised for you,” Oliver explained. “The lights might be a little brighter when you walk into a room, just to see how this person does, given the fact that they’ve come from this place. I never thought about that.”
Oliver left college at 19 and took a job as a PA for two years before deciding to try his hand in writing and directing. The only reason Oliver tried acting was “because my whole family did it.”
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“I took the opportunity but didn’t get after the opportunity,” Oliver shared. “What I did was half-assed, because I knew that when I didn’t get the job, I could use the excuse — consciously or subconsciously — of ‘I didn’t give it 100 percent.’ I just didn’t like the rejection.”
In order to change things up for his career, Oliver decided to move out of his parents’ house.
“I just said, ‘I got to get out of here.’ I have to put some pressure on myself. So I got an apartment with a friend. I could barely afford it because I wanted the nice apartment,” he recalled. “I got my first television show within three weeks of moving out.”
Oliver Hudson Details NSFW Comment About Kurt That Led to Hockey Fight
There was that one time when Oliver beat up a fellow kid who made a NSFW comment about his stepdad.
“With Kurt, I had an instance,” he recalled. “I played hockey for eight years, and this idiot teammate of mine said something I can’t even say here. And I lost it. Glove off. Just hauled into him and started fighting.”
Other than that, his parents’ career didn’t impact his younger years too much. It was “rough” having a mom as beautiful as Hawn but none of the comments “put me down in any way,” he added.
“I went through a phase where I wondered why people were friends with me or liked me — whether it was because they just wanted an in with my family,” Oliver explained. “A lot of that was in my head, though.”
How Oliver Hudson’s Anxiety Impacted His Career — And Sex Life
Oliver has experienced several severe bouts of anxiety throughout his life; his first panic attack hit at age 24. Before being diagnosed, he consulted multiple doctors in his search for answers.
“At that time, there was no medication. It was more meditation every single day, journaling every day. I’d try to work out, move my body. Of course, that would end up in a panic attack,” he explained. “Then, humorizing it, making it funny. I was being self-deprecating about it once I knew it wasn’t going to kill me — even though I felt like I was dying.”
Oliver Hudson and Wife Erinn Bartlett’s Relationship Timeline
The anxiety manifested itself physically as well, and even sex with wife Bartlett was impacted. Oliver would have to “stop” in the middle of their intimate moments because he had trouble breathing.
“I was throwing up on the street because I had anxiety about going outside. It got gnarly,” he said. “I would leave the house because I didn’t want to let it control me.”
At this time, Oliver was still trying to get his acting career off the ground.
“I got a callback to go read with Laura Linney in New York City. I get into a cab, I’m puking. I’m just a complete wreck. I don’t even remember the audition. I blacked out. I was just happy to be done with it, ” he said. “[With] all the journaling and the meditation, I was able to bring myself back into some semblance of reality, but there was a residual feeling.”
Oliver Hudson on Having the Best Sex With Wife Erin
The past issues with Oliver’s sex life were only a blip in his marriage to Bartlett. The couple, who share sons Wilder, 18, and Bodhi, 15, plus daughter Rio, 12, are more active than ever.
“She’s 52 and sexy as hell. Just sexy, sexy, sexy, hot and sexy. My self-discovery has allowed me to be more vulnerable, and it’s deepened the sex,” Oliver told Us about his wife. “It’s still crazy and nuts — it’s not like [’90s erotic anthology] Red Shoe Diaries and smooth jazz is on and it’s all slow and beautiful — but there’s a connection that just makes it so much better. I look at her every day, and I’m like, ‘God, she’s beautiful.’”
He praised Bartlett for being able to understand him “really well” — which means she lets him “fish and golf” without complaint.
Oliver Hudson Gives Major Update on Relationship With Dad Bill
Oliver and sister Kate’s estranged relationship with Bill has been public for years, stemming from Bill’s divorce from Hawn in 1980. They started the work to repair their relationship in 2015 after Oliver posted something rather “dark” on social media.
“It set off this firestorm I wasn’t expecting,” he told Us. “But we’re in contact now more than ever, talking about a few little projects together. We’ve had amazing lunches, throwing back some beers and crying and understanding each other more and more. It was really beautiful to sit down with him and look at my reflection in a way.”
Oliver Hudson Is Still Figuring It Out
As he gears up for his 50th birthday, Oliver is working on not giving a s*** — advice initially given to him by stepdad Russell.
“We’re always evolving and I am so interested in the human condition and especially my own,” he said, “[I’m] trying to be better, trying to strive, trying not to placate, trying to put myself out there and not worry about what people think.”
New episodes of Magnolia Network and Food Network’s Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition premiere Mondays at 9 p.m. and are available for streaming the following day on Hulu and Discovery+.
