You may have seen him sitting next to Luke Wilson on a plane, or dressed as cupid for your favorite cereal, but did you know this famous funny man is also a father of two?


How many times did you play a dad on TV before you became a dad in real life?

Just once but it wasn’t for TV; it was an internet series that I created. In one episode, I wanted to do a SPOILER dream sequence where my character finds himself married with a son. I’d always wanted to be a Dad and this was my chance to do it – that’s why I got into acting in the first place, it was a way to be the man I always wanted to be but was too (Fill in the blank here: Shy, scared, etc.) to pull it off. The actor who played my son was great, the son of a friend of a friend, and I loved being his Dad, even though it was only for a silly, five minute sci-fi comedy.

How has being a comic and an improviser helped you as a parent?

Oh, tremendously. As both an improviser and a parent, you have to listen like crazy and be ready to roll with the punches. A friend of mine calls it “being a Water Ninja”. I don’t know what each day is going to hold, my only expectation of myself is that I handle it as best I can in the moment. I get frustrated when I react according to somebody else’s rules or expectations – my wife handles things differently than I do and when I try to do things “her way”, I’m screwing up. My job, both as performer and father, is to be me at my best in the moment.

What happened the first time you found yourself, to use a waitering phrase, “In the weeds” as a new parent? How did you recover?

Oh, I got really angry. Our first daughter was a newborn and I’m sure she was fussing about a dirty diaper or something. I got scared that this crying baby was going to last forever and that I was going to go crazy because I had no idea what to do. I recovered by going ahead and getting upset, which led me to calming down and catching my breath. By that point my daughter was fine and I realized that, even in those “worst moments”, if I can just remember that it’s a momentary thing and that time will inevitably pass, life will be fine. It’s something I have to remind myself of over and over. It’s not instinctual yet, but it comes to me faster now than it did two years ago. I’m happy with that progress.

Fill in the blank:
If my kids see the tape of the time I had to ___________ they will never stop making fun of me.

I pee’d myself as an audience volunteer during a magic show, once. That’s a good one.

If you could only say one thing to a new father, what would it be?

Trust your gut. No matter what the situation is, you already know what to do. Trust your gut and follow through to the best of your ability.

What would be your dream role?

Sit-com where a guy goes from single to dating to married to father. That, or Flash Gordon.