'I'm not Jimmy Fallon anymore': Winnie's dad, Will Smith and more on fatherhood
It's only fitting that Bryce Dallas Howard's documentary "Dads," is coming to Apple TV+ on June 19, on Father's Day weekend. For the actress and filmmaker's feature debut, which explores the meaning of modern fatherhood, she interviewed celebrity dads including Jimmy Fallon, Will Smith and her own father, Ron Howard. Here are some of the most memorable quotes.
Jimmy Fallon
“Having a kid is the meaning of life. It gives you a job, it gives you a purpose. This is my purpose now. As soon as Winnie was born, I lost my name. I’m not Jimmy Fallon anymore; I’m Winnie’s dad.”
Conan O’Brien
“It’s this incredible realization that you’re not the most important in the world.”
-On becoming a dad.
Jimmy Kimmel
“You’re only as happy as your family is... and so you’re very vulnerable.”
Patton Oswalt
“I think a big part of the fatherhood narrative is still a very old narrative of the father goes into the wilderness… and finds supplies and kills an elk, but actually your kid wants you there.”
Neil Patrick Harris
“'I’ll tell you why, because I said so. And because it’s my house.' I remember hearing that and thinking 'What a dick move, Dad' and now I’m saying it to my son.”
Will Smith
“We had a thing called the circle of safety. The circle of safety was you could say anything and there was no punishment. So we got to the point where at our kids got so comfortable with the circle of safety, they said everything. And by the time Willow was 15, I started tapping out of circle of safety."
Ron Howard
“You just begin to learn that part of being a dad is handling s**t and coping with it. Even if it’s not pretty, even if you’re not that good at it — lean into the job of helping to raise these kids.”
Ron Howard
“I think children flourish when they know they're loved. I think children flourish when they’re as safe as they can be. And I think children flourish when good examples are set for them. We all sort of think we’re going to be able to do much, much more but I don’t think any of it supersedes that big three: love, safety and an example to follow."
Judd Apatow
"Very early on, I read a Deepak Chopra book and he said you should look at your relationship with your kids like they are a soul and you are a soul and for a little while you guide them a little bit, and then they move on. It’s not a being you possess, it’s someone you assist."
Ken Jeong
“Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. We don’t have to make our family perfect. Just make it wonderful. That, I learned from my dad.”
Hasan Minhaj
“Can I tell you the question that I struggle with the most? Do I get to determine if I’m a good dad? Or is that ultimately my daughter's decision to determine if I was a good dad or not? That’s terrifying. The biggest struggle for me is what is my dad Rotten Tomatoes score? What am I? Am I certified fresh or am I not?”
Kenan Thompson
"It was love at first sight, like for real for real."
- on meeting his daughter for the first time.
