“Once Upon a Time” Actor Raphael Sbarge on Fatherhood and Storytelling

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

I’m a huge fan of “Once Upon a Time,” and if you watched the show as avidly as I did each week, you’ll recognize actor Raphael Sbarge in his dual role as Jiminy Cricket and psychologist Archie Hopper.  The show, which has been renewed for a second season, is centered on the power of storytelling and finding the extraordinary truth in ordinary fairy tales.

Here, in an exclusive essay for Parents.com, Sbarge writes about his own roles as father, storyteller, and entertainer for his two kids.  He shares how making up bedtime stories (such as The Adventures of Seymour and Alice) helped instill imagination, creativity, and a love for books. Just in time for Father’s Day, read an excerpt from the essay below.

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I have two children, a son and a daughter. Django is now 7 and Gracie is 9. One problem I had when they were younger is that a book for one child wasn’t necessarily for the other, and bedtime was a precious window. I discovered one day, quite by accident, that I could make up my own stories. These stories would invariably come from a kind of free association, as random and ridiculous as whatever would occur to me in the moment, like the tale of a female pillow that had lost her owner and decided to find him. Or a bird that woke up one day and was able to talk to humans but would occasionally lose control and speak bird again.

But I really hit pay dirt with my ongoing series, The Adventures of Seymour and Alice, about a brother-and-sister adventure duo that would often get lost and find themselves in fantastic and perilous circumstances, yet by ingenuity, gumption, and a deep desire to help one another, would always find their way home. Click here to read the full essay by Raphael Sbarge.

Follow Raphael Sbarge on Twitter (@RaphaelSbarge) and on Facebook (facebook.com/officialraphaelsbarge).

Photo Credit: T Love Photography by Tena Fanning

Matt Damon Talks Fatherhood

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Wait! Before you toss your Sunday newspaper, check out Parade magazine‘s interview with Academy Award-winning actor, screenwriter, and father of four, Matt Damon.

In the interview, Damon talks about how he is able to maintain a low-key lifestyle despite his fame. Once named People‘s sexiest man alive, Damon now says “I try to stay away from the beefcake shots.”

Shirtless roles might be out for the actor, but we can’t begrudge him; Damon’s busy with his biggest role yet: fatherhood. He has three daughters with wife Luciana and one stepdaughter, 13-year-old Alexia. Damon told Parade:

“I jumped into the deep end with Lucy. I mean, Alexia was already 4. 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.”

Read more from the interview on Parade‘s website or in this week’s print edition.

See All of Our Favorite Hot Celebrity Dads

Image from Richie Buxo / Splash News