When choosing roles to act in, Chad Michael Murray considers what his kids might think.
The 42-year-old father of three told the fashion magazine Numéro Netherlands that he’s careful to pick projects that won’t come back to haunt his family later on.
“I would say, a lot of material, especially over the past five to eight years since my son was born, I choose because I think one of the last things you really want is for your kids to be berated in school for what their parents are doing,” Murray said while promoting his new Netflix rom-com, Mother of the Bride. “I don’t want my kids going to school, being freshmen in high school, and Dad’s butt posted all over their locker. That’s not fair to them, so making decisions for that has been great.”
Murray married actress Sarah Roehmer, his co-star in the short-lived TV series Chosen, in 2014. They share an 8-year-old son, a 7-year-old daughter and a baby girl born late last summer.
“I’m a family guy,” the former One Tree Hill star said. “We try to keep everything very grounded, very peaceful at home. And I love my job, but this is also my job. I’m making sure that I’m there every day, that we travel together as a pack, so we don’t break up the pack when we travel.”
For instance, when he films the show Sullivan’s Crossing in Nova Scotia, Canada, “we’re all there,” he explained. “I get to work and I get to go home and play with the babies. Now, is this extra work for me to throw on top, so I can’t be solely focused on Sullivan’s Crossing? Yeah, but that just means I need to better place my time and figure out how do I manage this all. So I get done with work, I come home, say hello, hugs, kisses all around, we sit down, we play, we watch something together, put them to bed and then get back to the text, get back to the focus. And we do that for everything.”
Murray’s latest film, Mother of the Bride, began streaming Thursday. He joins an ensemble cast featuring Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt as exes forced back into each other’s lives when Shields’ movie daughter (Miranda Cosgrove) announces her engagement to Bratt’s son (Sean Teale). Murray plays one of Shields’ love interests, a handsome doctor she meets on a tennis court.
“Everybody, from Benjamin, Brooke, Miranda, Sean and just the whole crew, was so warm and welcoming,” he said of filming on location in Thailand. “Our hair and makeup department, they were so much fun. And every morning we’d start the day off with great vibes, great energy, great music and life was good.”
