Paul Bettany wants his kids to 'live authentically'

Paul Bettany attends a special screening of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'at SVA Theatre on Monday, May 21, 2018, in New York. Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Paul Bettany attends a special screening of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'at SVA Theatre on Monday, May 21, 2018, in New York. Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Published Jan 18, 2021

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Paul Bettany says watching his father struggle with his sexuality has helped him with fatherhood.

The “WandaVision” star - who has Kai, 23, and Stellan, 17, and daughter Agnes, nine, with his wife Jennifer Connelly - admits his father's battle with his sexuality before he passed in 2015 has made it even more important for him that his children get to "live authentically as the person they are".

He said: "The terrible thing for my father is that, in the end, he went back in the closet, which was awful to watch, really.

“And that really speaks to the power of his Catholicism, which sort of led him to a place of shame and inability to mourn his partner in a real way.

“I really want my children, and I want everybody, to just live authentically as the person they are, and however hard that is, it’s absolutely better than pretending to be something other than you are.

“I find strength in not being judgmental, and I think my children have that too. Having been through a thousand years of therapy, there’s real power in getting to know yourself … and I have so many things to be grateful for."

And Paul admits getting married and having kids changed his life.

Speaking to People magazine, he added: "Marriage and children changed my life. It really altered who I was and what I saw as my goals."

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