"You have to show up more."
Kelsey Grammer wishes he had shown up more as a dad.
The 63-year-old actor shared with ET’s Courtney Tezeno some of his parenting regrets ahead of the premiere of his new Netflix film, Like Father, which is now available on the streaming service.
“I think, if I’m not with my kids, honestly, I regret that, but I know that’s part of life and I need to do my job as a person too and set a good example for them,” the father of seven -- whose kids range in age from 1 to 34 -- said. “You have to show up more. You know if you don’t show up, you don’t stay in people’s consciousness.”
The Cheers star also admitted that he had a hard time balancing his personal and professional lives when he was younger. The actor shares his eldest daughters, Spencer, 34, and Greer, 26, with exes Doreen Alderman and Barrie Buckner, while his two teenage children, Mason, 16, and Jude, 13, are shared with ex-wife Camille Grammer.
“I hadn’t quite discovered the idea that you can take the luxury of making sure your personal life is fulfilling at the same time your professional life is [when I was younger],” he confided. “Sometimes, one or the other is sacrificed a bit, but hopefully you achieve a balance with that and your kids are able to understand that, ‘Yeah dad worked and we’re glad he did.’”
The Frasier star went on to talk about his marriage to Kayte Walsh, with whom he shares three children -- Faith, 6, Kelsey, 4, and Auden, 1. While the couple has been married since 2011, the relationship is not without its pet peeves.
“My wife has this habit of… never let a person entering the room not turn into an opportunity to have something done,” Grammer joked. “Whenever anybody walks into the room, Kate will think of something they should do. And it just drives me crazy. I’m like, ‘I was just passing through.’ [And she says,] ‘Were you going to put the kettle on?’ ‘Oh, did you say you were going to make me a cup of coffee?’ ‘Oh, the baby needs changed.’”
Watch the video below for more with the TV star:
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