Life

7 Celebrity Dads On How Fatherhood Changed Them

Ryan Gosling, Chance the Rapper, and more celebrity dads weigh in on how they changed.

GETTY; Fatherly Illustration

Becoming a parent is a life-changing event for many dads. Bringing a new life in the world and being solely responsible for that life is, in an inadequate word, stressful. It also, for many dads, aligns priorities and world views in a never before experienced way. Many people begin to look beyond themselves in ways they never have before. That is even true, say, of celebrity dads, who, for all their money and fame, may even experience this phenomenon more greatly. Their world is no longer just about them, their fears are amplified, their fame, sometimes scary. Here are musings from Ryan Gosling, Chance the Rapper, and more celebrity dads on how they changed when they became fathers.

It Made Ryan Gosling Work to Be Better

“When you meet your kids, you realize that they deserve great parents,” Ryan Gosling told GQ. “And then you have your marching orders, and you have to try and become the person that they deserve.”

It Made Ryan Reynolds Re-Think Everything

“I used to say to [my wife, Blake Lively], ‘I would take a bullet for you. I could never love anything as much as I love you,’” Ryan Reynolds told David Letterman. “The second I looked in that baby’s eyes, I knew in that exact moment that if we were ever under attack, I would use my wife as a human shield to protect that baby.”

It Made Chance the Rapper Understand his Parents Better

“I want to be closer to my parents now because I realize how important that is. There was never a point, ever, in my life where I can remember loving someone as much or more than I love my mom until I met my daughter,” Chance said in an interview with Complex after the birth of his daughter. “So, it made me understand that my mom loves me more than she loves anybody in the world, and that’s crazy to me.”

It Gave Ashton Kutcher A Hero Complex

“I kind of have like, a hero complex a little bit,” Kutcher said on The Talk. “I’m somebody’s hero now. It fulfills every bit of your ego when the kid starts to cry and you’re like, ‘Oh, I got this,’ and you take it on, and suddenly the child calms down, and you’re like, ‘Oh yeah!’ You feel like you’re like a baby whisperer.”

It Made Jason Momoa Rethink His Recklessness

“I really can’t tell you what the hell I was doing before I had kids. [I] was pretty reckless and definitely a bit out of control…,” Jason Momoa said in an interview with Men’s Health. “I probably love myself more and take care of myself more because I want to stick around.”

It Made Chris Hemsworth Understand Love

“The biggest thing I’ve learned by having kids is that now I know what love is. I know what frustration is,” he said to Daily Life. “I know the full gamut of emotions, good and bad. I feel [like before,] I had just scratched the surface.”

It Made John Legend Begin to Want A Better World

“Having kids puts in context for me the kinds of things kids need to be successful and healthy and happy,” John Legend told the Chicago Tribune. It puts a little more focus on what the world is going to be. You want it to be safe. You want it to be peaceful. You want people to have opportunity. You want people to have justice.”