Interview: Peter Facinelli
The Twilight & Nurse Jackie actor on raising three daughters.
by Tammy La Gorce
July 10, 2009
How so? Where do you draw the line?
There's a lot of things they can watch, like Disney Channel. But I won't let my twelve-year-old watch MTV, because there are some things on there that I think are not appropriate for her. If there's a movie they want to watch and it's PG-13, I go online
to this parental website where you can see why it's rated PG-13. Like it'll say, "Fifteen minutes in, a guy looks inappropriately at a woman's butt," blah blah blah. That way I don't have to sit there and watch the whole movie first.
What's your favorite kids' show?
It's different for each age — I watch Dora and Blue's Clues with my two-year-old,
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody with my six-year-old old, and my twelve-year-old is still on
Hannah Montana. I was actually really enjoying Zack & Cody yesterday — it was a Halloween episode. I think the janitor guy was dressed up like Frankenstein. I thought that actor, the janitor guy, was really funny.
Are you the kind of dad who would be into doing guest spots on kids' shows, like
Sesame Street?
I would totally do Sesame Street. My wife just did it. It shoots on the same lot as
Nurse Jackie. And I was so fascinated to go down and see the shoot.
Edie Falco recently adopted kids. Do you talk about child-rearing on the set?
"I think parenting no matter what you do as an occupation is hard."No, not really. Her kids come down to the set and they're adorable, but we don't really have discussions about parenting. I just know the kids are really well-behaved.
Is it harder to be a good parent when you're famous than when you're not famous?
No. I think parenting no matter what you do as an occupation is hard. What matters is if you make the occupation more important than the family. If I were a stockbroker or a plumber, I'd try to keep it in balance so I spend the right amount of time with
my family. Acting's the same. Being a celebrity parent I definitely shelter my kids more than other parents do, though. It's hard sometimes — you go to events and sometimes there are kids there and they're surrounded with glamour. But my kids aren't starstruck.
And there are perks to being an actor parent, like my daughter getting to be around
Twilight, which was something she had read and loved.
Do you look up to any other actors for their outstanding parenting skills?
No, I kind of look to my own parents for inspiration. They've been together their whole marriage, and they raised a great family; my sisters and I are very close. So it would be hard for me to look at a celebrity as a role model for parenting when I have
them in my own back yard.
Last question: Is there any dancing going on in your household? Can you dance like your wife's partner, Derek Hough, on
Dancing With the Stars?
My daughters love to dance, yeah. Sometimes we put the radio on and we all dance together in the living room. Can I dance like her partner on
Dancing With the Stars? Maybe. I probably wouldn't look as good in the tight pants, though.
©2009 Babble Media
About the Author
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Tammy La Gorce is a freelance entertainment writer living in New Jersey with her son and daughter. Her work regularly appears in The New York Times, GRAMMY and other magazines. |
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