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My dad’s era believed that there was something noble in being a good guy – the kind of guy that lived straight and narrow, told the truth, and stood up for what he believed was right.
My dad had been an actor… not only had my dad been an actor, but his dad had been an actor, and my great-grandfather had been an actor. And who knows before then?
I went and took golf lessons so Dad would let me play with him. I was just terrible… but I was able to have a wonderful time just walking around with Dad. I can see the real pleasure of that game.
I look at my little girl and I wonder what she’s going to be and what she’s going to do and what is it that leads girls certain directions in life. I think a lot of that goes back to what kind of father they had, and so it makes me want to be the best dad I can possibly be.
I had always loved music. I grew up listening to classic country, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard. My dad loved Vern Gosdin and Keith Whitley. So I kept going to class and started getting totally into playing guitar and teaching myself these songs.
My dad has always been very proud of me but I think I have exceeded his expectations. When I told him I wanted to be an actor and moved to New York City, I think he assumed I would be playing the guitar on the subway and collecting spare change in my guitar case. The fact that I’m not doing that means that I’m a huge success.
I didn’t want to play a lawyer. I didn’t want to play a doctor. I didn’t want to play a single dad. I wanted to do something I felt I could learn from, something that would be a challenge and something that would not dry up.
I feel that marrying younger and being quite a young dad helped me with the stability of my career.
I worked with my dad for 15 years. I apprenticed under him and decided I wanted to become an architect. So I went to college for it and then the acting bug got me.
Indians mock their corrupt politicians relentlessly, but they regard their honest politicians with silent suspicion. The first thing they do when they hear of a supposedly ‘clean’ politician is to grin. It is a cliche that honest politicians in India tend to have dishonest sons, who collect money from people seeking an audience with Dad.