Although I grew up in London, I spent summers in Missouri, where my dad lived. It's quite a liberal town, Kansas City. You'd be surprised.
My dad never told me that when you audition, you might not get the role. He wanted to wait until my first disappointment to tell me.
When I was a boy, I used to pull a big cross saw with my dad. He'd use his right hand, so I'd have to use my left.
I was very lucky growing up, and I got all my dad's and aunts' toys from the 1950s and 1960s and loved those old pedal cars.
My dad would always say, 'What can you do to make the world a better place?' Well, I can make people laugh.
I can go without make-up and go fishing with my dad; other times, I buy pink shoes and shop for dresses.
I can talk to my dad like he's my manager, and put 'Dad' on the back burner. We've been doing it since I was 13.
My dad was a soul fan and a singer himself, and he loved vocal harmony, stuff like the Beach Boys and Motown like the Four Tops, which was a big influence on me.
More of him came from my step-dad, who is now passed away. The initial creators of the show kind of based the character on their dads and then I added my dad.
I would ask my dad what he did, and he'd say, 'I listen to people's problems.' In some way what he did for a living is in my genes.
The most challenging part of being a dad is self-restraint. So often your instinct is to teach and tell. I am constantly reminding myself to listen to them.
Parents don't understand kids and kids don't understand parents. My parents were divorced when I was really young and I went to live with my dad.
I've dated all kinds of guys and didn't know who I'd end up with. But I kind of assumed it would be someone more like my dad than not.
I know it was harder for me taking care of my dad during his cancer than it was going through my own. You feel more helpless as a caregiver.
Think about finding out when you're 13 that your dad is not your dad. It's like, okay, take it on the chin and keep going. No choice, really.
My dad was a very violent, frightening and dangerous guy. Next to him, I was this vague kind of kid who walked around, as I still do, gathering impressions.
Mum doesn't like it when I mention that Dad's a better cook than her. He was born in Spain and spent eight years in Portugal and is exceptional at lots of cuisines.
I wanted my children to have the same exposure to the water I had. My strongest memories of Northeast Harbor are going in a small Whaler with my dad, looking for osprey.
Being the son of a father who works so hard, I always wanted to be able take a lot of load off of my dad so he can just relax.
My dad wanted me to go down a more academic route. He is very much about sticking to the rule book and sticking to the blueprint of a successful career.
My dad sent Frank Sinatra a dollar bill to autograph, and when it came back, signed, he had it framed: it was always up on the wall in whatever flat we were in.
