5-Minute Time Out: Kevin Nealon
The Weeds and ex-SNL actor on being a grandpa-aged dad.
by Erika Milvy
July 3, 2008
What fears did impending fatherhood stir up in you?
The thing about me is that my parents were so great, I didn't think I could be as good a parent as they were, so that scared me about becoming a parent. Most people go to therapy to talk about their terrible childhoods. I had to go to therapy because my parents were so good.
So what's life like as an older dad?
Well, I'm getting Depends for me and Pampers for my child. I don't need a rattle for the baby because he's got prescription bottles of mine.
Your son's name is Gable. Did you name him after Clark Gable?
We just liked the phonetic sound of it.
"We wanted a unique name but nothing too 'Apple'-ish."
Dead movie stars from the '40s was one thing we didn't think about — we were looking at street signs and menus, we wanted a unique name but nothing too 'Apple'-ish. We thought, Gable's kind of nice and also it's a gable of a house, an architectural structure, a good strong name. And we're going to have seven children and call them all Gable and we'll be the house of seven Gables.
Do you have any good advice for dads your age?
You do need to get in shape to pass your physical to get life insurance. There was a snag in getting the life insurance finalized: the agents were fans of Weeds and my character smokes pot. On my questionnaire, I put that I didn't smoke, which must have confused them. They thought, if I didn't smoke, then why was I smoking on Weeds? I had to tell them it was my character who was smoking.
Your character from Weeds is such a schmuck....
A loveable shmuck.
Can you imagine any advice he might give Gable?
Aside from having a good time — that's what Doug Wilson likes to do, have fun — I don't think he has any really good advice for a child.
©2008 Erika Milvy and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Erika Milvy is a writer and critic covering arts and entertainment. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The LA Times, Parenting Magazine, Time Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, Salon and other places. |
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