At SXSW, Jake Johnson bluntly dismissed the ’90s nostalgia wave, arguing the decade had few redeeming features to revisit—but he deeply misses the era’s road trip culture, where disconnection fostered genuine adventure and human connection, a contrast to today’s GPS-dominated travel.
On March 13, 2026, at the SXSW world premiere of The Sun Never Sets in Austin, Texas, actor Jake Johnson offered a counter-narrative to the pervasive ’90s nostalgia trend. The 47-year-old, celebrated for his role as Nick Miller on New Girl, told reporters that while he found the decade “cool,” there’s little he’d want to revisit. “I think it’s surprising that people are getting nostalgic about the ‘90s because having lived through them, I thought they were cool, but there’s not much that would make me think we got to go back to the ’90s,” Johnson said in an exclusive interview People.
Johnson’s comments cut against a cultural landscape saturated with ’90s revivals, from fashion comebacks to TV reboots. His perspective, rooted in firsthand experience, underscores a critical truth: nostalgia often intensifies for those who didn’t live through an era, while survivors recall its tangible limitations—spotty internet, limited entertainment, and fewer conveniences. Yet, Johnson balanced his critique with acknowledgment of the decade’s strengths.
The One Element He Truly Misses: Unstructured Road Trips
Despite his general dismissal, Johnson singled out one ’90s hallmark he genuinely misses: the spirit of old-school road trips, defined by mandatory disconnection. “Road trips now aren’t road trips if you have a cell phone and GPS and all this,” he emphasized. “You’re driving a lot, but when I was in high school and college and you took a road trip, you would say goodbye to everybody and maybe call them if you got a calling card from a pay phone, but most likely I’ll see you in nine days.” People
For Johnson, the absence of instant navigation and communication turned journeys into adventures. “What happens in that car with those people, that becomes your whole world, and I miss that a lot,” he recalled. “You wouldn’t know where a hotel was or a restaurant… I found that really exciting.” This nostalgia for unplanned disconnection highlights a modern paradox: as technology simplifies travel, it also erodes the serendipity and shared resilience that once defined the open road.
Nostalgia for Media: Streamlined Yet Democratized
Johnson also reflected on the ’90s media environment, praising its focused cultural output. “The bands were cool. You know what I liked? That there was a lot of great music, movies were really cool… I liked that there weren’t so many streamers or different things,” he shared. “It was more streamlined, but I also like now that there’s less gatekeepers.” People This dual appreciation reveals his nuanced view: while he misses the era’s cohesive pop culture moments, he values today’s accessibility and reduced barriers to entry for creators.
Career Context: From New Girl to The Sun Never Sets
Johnson’s career has been built on relatable, everyman charm. His breakout role as the sarcastic bartender Nick Miller on New Girl cemented his pop culture status AOL. Now, as a father of two AOL, he brings a seasoned perspective to his projects. The Sun Never Sets, directed by Joe Swanberg and co-starring Dakota Fanning and Cory Michael Smith, premiered at SXSW to attention, demonstrating his ongoing evolution in independent film. His family life and career trajectory ground his nostalgic reflections in a lived experience that resonates with fans who’ve followed his journey.
Why This Matters: A Cultural Mirror for Our Connected Age
Johnson’s interview transcends celebrity opinion; it’s a sharp cultural critique. In an era of relentless reboots and algorithmic nostalgia, his stance challenges the assumption that past decades are uniformly superior. By highlighting the ’90s’ limitations—and specifying that only road trip disconnection holds enduring appeal—he forces a reconsideration of what we’re actually chasing in nostalgia.
For fans, this perspective deepens appreciation for Johnson’s authentic persona. His on-screen roles, from New Girl‘s Nick Miller to his indie film work, often embrace chaos and spontaneity, mirroring his real-life valuation of unstructured experiences. This alignment between artist and art reinforces his relatability, showing that his charm stems from genuine beliefs about human connection.
Moreover, his focus on road trips speaks to a universal longing in our hyper-connected world: the desire for journeys where the destination isn’t predetermined by GPS, and interactions aren’t mediated by screens. As streaming services flood us with ’90s content, Johnson’s reminder that true nostalgia may lie in specific, personal rituals—like the lost art of getting lost—offers a more meaningful takeaway than mere retro fashion.
Ultimately, Johnson’s ’90s reality check serves as a timely lens on how we curate memory. Nostalgia isn’t monolithic; it’s selective and often shaped by what we’ve sacrificed. His confession might inspire audiences to unplug, hit the road, and rediscover the thrill of uncertainty—a lesson far more valuable than any decade-long romanticism.
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