You haven’t really played a role like this before, as a dad with older kids, and that’s the center of the character’s world.

I mean, a lot of my buddies, they have kids. I think the oldest—they had kids at 21, so actually one of them does have a 16-year-old. That’s a journey my wife and I are very much hoping to go on.

It’s on the schedule.

Yeah.

Does playing a dad like this make you think about what kind of dad you would be?

I think you’re raised with a sort of value system, and I think for the most part you want to give kids a better life than you had. That seems to be pretty universal from parents and grandparents that I’ve talked to.

When it comes to Hollywood right now, I’m having so many conversations about what’s going on in the industry these days.

What’s the data say?

Concern. But lots of different takes on it, and I’m curious where your head is at. Do you feel worried, optimistic?

I think that there’s never been more opportunity for actors and for directors. There’s a lot of really incredible material that tends to be more, like, maybe in the limited-series space or really great television. But I do think that theatrical experience is necessary, and this year is off to a really good start and so people show up. We get into trouble when anybody starts taking their audience for granted. I think that is really the torch that needs to be carried on all levels, not just the people making the thing, but the people distributing, the people selling it.

But I don’t worry too much about the state of things, because at the end of the day, you’ve just got to kind of put one foot in front of the other and try to make the best version of your career, but also the best life for you and your family. That’s what I try to do. Because if I’m focused on work too much, then I tend to not have that time with my wife and my friends, my family.

Speaking of movies that succeeded this year, you played Michael Jackson’s lawyer John Branca in Michael. What have you heard about the sequel?

I know that they’re all very excited about it. I haven’t read the script yet, but once it’s done, then I know we’ll see it.

Did you anticipate the first one being as massive as it has been, earning $706 million worldwide so far?

For a movie to do that kind of business, it really needs to entertain people, because movies—small or big—they do well based on word of mouth. Word of mouth comes from the quality of what you’ve done. I remember reading some study that Michael Jackson was one of the top five most famous people to ever walk the earth, and on that list is, like, Leonardo da Vinci, Jesus Christ—he is that famous.