Page 85 - Southern Oregon Magazine Fall 2021

JIM BELUSHI

Airing on Channel 8 & Streaming with the PBS app!
Rogue Valley resident Jim Belushi has parlayed his passions
into not just one, but two careers. The veteran actor has
taken his love for acting and producing to document his
other passion, growing legal cannabis. You can see the work
on the Discovery Channel (and Discovery Plus) show called
Growing Belushi. “I’ve blended my improvisational acting
skills with my farming skills.” Belushi says that acting and
farming both take in-depth research. Both are “detailed
work that requires focus, caring, and loving what I do. They
both stimulate my passion as a man, and growth as a person.
They’re very similar.” The name Growing Belushi refers to
the farm just as much as it refers to Belushi himself. “I came
here to Oregon eight years ago and this state, this land,
these people, this community have changed me. Becoming
so close to the land, the Rogue River, and agriculture has
grounded me, expanded my consciousness; my heart is big-
ger, my mind is gentler, and all that I’ve received from this
land has helped me grow as a man. That’s how I came up
with the name Growing Belushi for the TV show. It reflects
not only growing cannabis here in Southern Oregon, it America’s
reflects my growth as a man. Growing Belushi is multi- Test Kitchen
layered. The processing and the detail work from actually Saturdays 1:30 pm
growing and the challenges that arise from that, challenge
me as a man—they force growth, maturity, etc. It uses all
my skills that I’ve learned as a comic actor, writer, and pro-
ducer. It represents the growth of the cannabis community
and industry that we are all growing along with. Growing
Belushi is kind of everything I am and have become, with a
lot of comedy alongside it.”

When asked what goes on behind the scenes of his profes-
sion he emphatically says, “Magic. We conjure up magic,
spontaneity, and we present it between ‘action’ and ‘cut.
I’m a magic chaser and I look for magic in every scene and
I look for magic with every plant. There’s a lot of magic in
the cannabis industry. Magic has purpose. Magic makes you
feel present in your body and in your mind. Everybody is
chasing magic. I’m fortunate to be in a couple of industries
that are laden with it. Never feel sorry for me! I’m really
having a ball.” And for that, Mr. Belushi, we thank you!

https://www.instagram.com/jim_belushi
https://www.instagram.com/belushisfarm
https://twitter.com/JimBelushi
https://www.tiktok.com/@belushisfarm
https://www.belushisfarm.com
www.discovery.com/shows/growing-belushi

Go to SOPBS.org for complete listings.

fall 2021 | www.southernoregonmagazine.com 83