I get a lot of advice from my dad about how I should be as a human being, but as an actor, I think he'll give me advice once I'm doing a film for him.
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 didn't come from a trailer park. I grew up middle class and my dad had money and my mom made my lunch. I got a car when I was sixteen. I'm proud of that.
A military childhood in the 1950s was very much informed by WWII. My brothers and I often heard stories from our dad - and from other kids - about things that had happened to their dads. We constantly played war games and, nearly every Saturday, saw a different WWII movie at the post theater.
Have you ever read the back of the Newman's Diavolo pasta sauce? Dad on the front is dressed like the devil with a little beard and horns. He says that he sells his soul to the devil for the recipe. It was banned in the South. They thought it was an abomination.
When I was a kid at four years old, that's when I started amateur wrestling with my dad and family. And when that's instilled in you, it never goes away.
I thought my dad was out of work, because my friends had fathers with briefcases who'd go off somewhere with bow ties on. But my father would finish breakfast and go back to his room.
My dad's Nigerian, and I remember going to Nigeria, and all of these kids and adults and everyone in-between knew who TuPac was. They had TuPac t-shirts, TuPac posters, TuPac cassettes... everyone knew TuPac, and sometimes that was the only English that they spoke, was TuPac lyrics.
My dad said, 'The thing that I was told that was really helpful was that I mustn't be afraid of the things I was afraid of when I was five years old'. The shock of his childhood had put him in this defensive crouch against the world, and he needed to know that he had a nice wife and kids and it wasn't the same any more.
I didn't want to travel. I didn't want to leave my family. I heard all these stories from Dad about not having Edward around when he was young, and I didn't want that to happen.
I was 14 years old when my dad went into rehab, and he stayed there for a long time - I don't know, 10 or 12 years maybe. He first was there as a resident, as someone trying to get sober, and it took a long time; and then he stayed on helping people get their GED.
My dad is a good dad.
I grew up in Nashville in a white suburb. We lived next to a Klan member. We didn't see hoods, but my dad knew that guy was a Grand Dragon.
I'm sure my desire to perform came, in part, from being around politics as a kid. My dad had a big personality, and a lot of the people involved in Boston politics have big personalities, so there were all kinds of wacky people around.
I have this complex. I don't like too much exposure. I don't know why it is. Maybe it's bred in me, because my dad always told me to be humble and don't think you're too good.
As for my personal life, I'd love to start a family of my own. I think I'd make a great dad, and I think shortly I would make a great husband.
As a family, we were always active. Lots of walking, lots of running as well as riding bikes with dad.
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.
There is not a racist bone in my dad's body. He doesn't even laugh at distasteful jokes.
My Dad was so open creatively that I was off in search of black turtleneck bathing suits with long sleeves.
It was always chaos with Mom, Dad, uncles, you know; we all lived in the same building. Dinner parties with 25 people every night.
I grew up surfing. My dad probably put me on a surfboard before I could walk.
My coaches were great. My mom and dad. My dad never missed a wrestling meet.
My dad is an English teacher, and my mom is a textiles artist. My parents made my sisters and me feel that if we wanted to pursue something creative, it could be done. They've always been supportive of everything from the beginning.
'Nil By Mouth' was a bit autobiographical, but as I always pointed out at the time, that's not my dad.
One of the most revealing details about my parents is that they only got together three months before my dad's arrest.
My senior year of high school, when I was getting recruited for college, my dad goes to me, 'You can become an Olympic champion.' And that's the first time that I'd heard someone else say that to me. I was like, 'Uh, are you talking to me?'
My dad was so much fun growing up.
My dad would always say, 'What can you do to make the world a better place?' Well, I can make people laugh.
I can't tell you how many letters I've gotten where someone showed 'Sordid Lives' to their mom, dad, or family and used it as a tool to come out.
I picked Dad's guitar up when I was 8. It hurt to play, so I put it down and picked it back up when I was 15 and dug in. The guitar helped me come out of my shell and kind of gave me an identity at school.
I miss my Dad. My Dad loved cheesy monster movies, so we'd have Godzilla movie marathons. Those are some of my favorite memories, laughing at how the monster outfits were so bad, like black garbage bags for heads.
My dad has always been extremely supportive in every decision I've made and much more interested in me picking what I wanted to do.
When I was young, I watched my mom and dad build everything that matters: a family, a business and a good name. I was raised to believe in hard work, in faith and family. My dad, Ed Pence, was a combat veteran in Korea.
My dad is this very sensible guy who never let me feel that anything was beyond my station.
My dad has ingrained that in me: 'Be accountable.'
