The NCIS star talks to Laurie Sandell about his most important role – playing dad to five kids.
Chris O’Donnell first hit the big time as the perfect boy next door. But these days, the boy wonder we remember as Robin from the Batman movies is all grown up and has a family of five boisterous kids – Lily, 10, Christopher “Chip”, 9, Charles, 7, Finley, 4 and Maeve, 2. Now starring in NCIS: Los Angeles, Chris – the youngest of seven himself – attends every one of his kids’ weekend sporting events. Today, the 40-year-old and his wife of 13 years, Caroline, live a laidback existence in LA, and he says it’s at home, not in front of the bright lights, where he’s most comfortable.
How did you and Caroline meet?
I lived in the same building as her brother Andrew. She came to visit and we had a little smooch. I knew there was something special about her from that moment, but we didn’t see each other again for three years. One night I was out with Andrew and said, “What’s that little sister of yours up to? Let’s give her a call”. So we did, and she was like, “Why are you calling me?” I didn’t really know why, except that I had never forgotten her. And we started talking … We dated for three years and got married when I was 26.”
Do you think you’ll stop at five kids?
Oh, my God, yeah! To be honest, we got four and said, “Wow, this is a lot”. We really wanted to have another girl, but we thought, “That’s crazy”. A year later we found out [we were pregnant] and we were like, “Ok, a little miscommunication there …” [Laughs] But things work out for a reason, and we can’t imagine our life without Maeve. Look at those pigtails – she’s Cindy Lou Who!
How do you and Caroline manage to find time for yourselves?
Our time is after 8pm, after the kids are all in bed. Friday night we had dinner at this nice tapas restaurant; we were drinking sangria and came home at 12.15am. That’s a wild night for us, because you have to answer the bell the next morning. Maeve starts crying at 6.45am, and we’ll start kicking each other under the bed sheets: “Maeve is crying. Get her.” Or you do that fake pretend sleep where as soon as the other person gets up, you’ll say, “Oh, are you going to get her? I’ll stay here then. I didn’t even hear her.” We’ll also do weekends away occasionally, just the two of us, which I think is important.
Ever have one of those moments where you look around at your life and say, “Ah this is what it’s all about?”
For sure. When I’m sitting in the backyard at the end of the day with a glass of wine, watching the kids having fun and clowning around, for me, that’s what it all about. I have my own worries and concerns and frustrations, but I’m doing something that I love to do. My wife and kids are in good shape. What is there not to be happy about?
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