They’re the stars of the stage and screen — but for many celebrities’ kids, they’re dad above all else.
Over the years, many famous faces have spoken about fatherhood — whether it’s the “indescribable” feeling of parenthood or how it has changed their perspective to life, the thing that they’re the most proud about as a father or the power of a “magnificent hug” from their little ones.
Ahead of Father’s Day this weekend, we’re taking a look at some of the sweetest things famous dads have said about fatherhood…
Read more:Louise Cooney pays tribute to her dad ahead of Father's Day: 'I’m very lucky to have him'
Ronan Keating is a dad-of-five — and often shares snapshots into family life with his followers on social media, marking everything from graduation milestones to special birthday celebrations.
The Boyzone singer shares three kids — Jack, Missy and Ali — with his ex-wife, Yvonne Connolly. And he and wife Storm have two kids together — six-year-old Cooper and Coco (3).
During a recent telly appearance, Ronan and Storm opened up about their relationship — and how they feel their family is complete, so he will be getting “the snip”.
He said, “I’ve got the date locked in. It’s happening. It’s in the diary.
“I’ve postponed it once. I went to the first consultation. So, I got that part done and this was difficult. My brother got it done and he’s told me all sorts of stories.”
The Dubliner, who became a grandad earlier this year after Jack announced he had become a dad, previously told how he feels “blessed and lucky” to have his kids.
He said in 2020, “I have a very good relationship with all of them. They are very cool kids and very grounded.
“I am blessed and lucky to have them.
“I have an amazing family. I was one of five and it’s incredible to think I now have five kids myself.”
Barry Keoghan told how becoming a dad is an “indescribable” feeling.
The Banshees of Inisherin actor and his girlfriend, Alyson Sandro, welcomed their son Brando last summer.
And in October 2022, the Dubliner shared a glimpse into parenthood as he said it was “a love I’ve not felt before”.
Earlier this year, Barry shared sweet photos of his son with his pal and former co-star Colin Farrell — or, as he captioned the snaps, ‘Uncle Col’ — at the Baftas.
Ryan Gosling candidly opened up about when he realised he wanted to be a dad.
The Barbie actor and Eva Mendes got together after meeting while they were working on 2012’s The Place Beyond The Pines.
The pair welcomed their first daughter, Esmerelda, in 2014. Their second daughter, Amada, was born in 2016.
In a recent interview, the Canadian actor explained that he hadn’t thought about becoming a dad until he met Eva.
Ryan told how when the two of them played a family on-screen, it was when he realised “this would be a life I would be really lucky to have”.
He said, “When you asked me about Eva and kids, I think I said, I didn’t think about kids until she told me she was pregnant. That’s not really true.
“I didn’t want to overshare, but now I also don’t want to misrepresent. I mean, it’s true that I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realised that I just didn’t want to have kids without her.
“And there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore. I realised that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.”
Ryan also told how he took a step back from Hollywood for a few years as he “wanted to spend as much time as I could with” his daughters.
And in 2017, he opened up about becoming motivated him to be the best father that he possibly can be.
He said, “When you meet your kids, you realise that they deserve great parents. And then you have your marching orders, and you have to try and become the person that they deserve.”
Matt Damon opened up about how fatherhood keeps his heart feeling “full all the time”.
The Bourne actor wed Luciana Barroso Damon in 2005. Luciana was already mum to her four-year-old daughter, Alexia, from a previous relationship — and the couple later welcomed three daughters: Stella, Gia and Isabella.
And in 2011, Matt opened up about becoming a dad-of-four.
He said, “I jumped into the deep end with Lucy. I mean, Alexia was already four. I was an extra dad…
“The only way I can describe it — it sounds stupid, but — at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows, like, five times its size? Everything is full; it’s just full all the time.”
Justin Baldoni told how there was one specific rule that he had set himself as a dad.
The It Ends With Us actor-director is the dad of seven-year-old Maiya and five-year-old Maxwell.
And in a 2018 interview, he explained that no matter where he is, or what he may be doing, he makes sure to always be there to say goodnight to his kids.
He said, “It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, if it’s around 7:30 at night and my wife calls me, I know she’s Facetiming me because she’s putting the kids down.
“I answer, whether I’m in a meeting (or something else). I say, ‘Excuse me, I’m going to say goodnight to my kids.’ That’s really, really important to me.”
And for Ed Sheeran, becoming a dad has given him “purpose” outside of music.
The Thinking Out Loud hitmaker and his wife, Cherry, welcomed their first child together — their daughter, Lyra — in August 2020.
And in December the following year, he opened up about how fatherhood has changed his perspective.
He explained, “I just found that I really didn’t have purpose outside of [music] because when I was giving myself fixed time of no work, I wasn’t doing anything I enjoyed because I love doing music.
“And [being a dad] has actually given me purpose and something in life that’s actually more important than my job.”
The couple welcomed their second daughter, Jupiter, in May 2022. He later shared a sweet tribute to his daughter on the tour edition of his album, =.
Dad-of-three Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson regularly shares sweet insights into parenthood.
The Moana actor has three daughters: Simone (21), whom he shares with his ex wife Dany; five-year-old Tiana and seven-year-old Jasmine, whom he shares with his wife Lauren.
In 2021, he told his social media followers that “all my girls have become the great equalisers” in his life as he shared a sweet photo of himself and Tiana.
He wrote, “Every man wants a son, but every man needs a daughter. All my girls have become the great equalisers in my life. I’m surrounded by oestrogen and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“And man, I hope she never gets tired of holding these big ol’ dinosaur hands, though I suspect one day she will.”
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka welcomed their twins — Harper and Gideon — via surrogate in 2010.
And the How I Met Your Mother actor shared a sweet tribute to fatherhood on Instagram in 2017, telling his followers how it was “far and away the greatest joy in my life”.
He wrote, “Being a parent is the single most challenging thing I’ve ever done/continue to do, but it’s also far and away the greatest joy in my life.
“It has given me purpose, taught me patience, and expanded my heart. Thanks, @dbelicious, for taking the journey of two lifetimes with me.”
And in 2020, the actor opened up about one of his favourite parts of the day.
He said, “There is nothing greater than arriving home before dinner and they run down the stairs and jump into your arms and give you a magnificent hug that doesn’t end. It takes away any upset or distraction of the day.”
Channing Tatum posts glimpses into his life as a dad on social media, declaring his daughter Everly “the coolest person on the planet” and that she is “my world and my heart”.
And with the release of his latest book, The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie, he shared a little more insight fatherhood — and the thing that he’s most proud about as a dad.
He explained, “I’m really proud that my daughter loves to hang out with me, and we’re just buddies.
“She would be with me all day if she could. And we just hang out all the time. Because I know that that’s not going to be always — that is definitely going to go away at some point.
“I even said that to her the other day. I was like, ‘Evie, I’m going to need a lot of therapy after… there’s going to be a moment when you’re like, ‘Can you drop me and so-and-so off at the mall and like come back in like a couple hours?’, and I’m going to die a small death that day.
“And she’s like, ‘I’ll never do that.’ Like, ‘It’s OK baby, you will and it’s going to be fine.”
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