I’ll start with this, because you all know anyway -
Yes, Carice and I are having a baby, so yes, this is old news but I have to say it’s incredibly thrilling and of course somewhat strange & overwhelming. I’d spent my whole life not really wanting or thinking about having children, probably because I’ve carried such a sense of responsibility for my sister, so more responsibility wasn’t necessarily the choice I was looking for in life. The irony of course is that Tracy’s the most excited person of all about this ‘baby’ news. She can’t wait and asks me every day about the due date. I’m very excited for her to meet our little one – whoever he/she may be…….
If anyone had asked me at the end of 2014 what I thought my next 12 months looked like it wouldn’t have included a break up and the prospect of a child with the woman who gave birth to a shadow baby and burns children at the stake on Game of Thrones. Funnily enough I don’t watch the show (I actually don’t watch much TV at all – except ‘Aussie rules’ football of course) so I have a lot of people filling me in on the history of the show….Yes, and it’s nudity……..
So 2016 starts with as much tumult as 2015 - however, positive news this time. I stopped drinking too - Another positive step.
Carice loving being pregnant, but I find myself in San Francisco and Vancouver having just played Cleve Jones in the ABC (USA) TV mini series ‘When We Rise’which looks at the gay rights movement from the 70’s to now. It’s an incredible story with a brilliant team who made ‘MILK’behind it - Dustin Lance Black, Gus van Sant and Bruce Cohen producing. Fantastic scripts. I got to work with Michael K Williams, Mary Louise Parker, TR Knight, Todd Weeks, Ivory Aquino, Rafael de la Fuente, David Hyde Pierce (playing my dad) Richard Socarides, and of course legendary Rob Reiner and Deborah Winger, as well as many other wonderful actors.
I then went straight back to Australia (Sydney, sadly) to pop in for Ridley’s new Alien film ‘Covenant’ with my pal Michael Fassbender, then came straight back to LA to start a new album with Joe Henry and wonderful band of merry men – brilliant musicians really – Adam Levy on guitar, David Piltch on bass, Patrick Warren on Keys and Jay Bellerose on Percussion and Ryan Freeland engineering. I can’t express enough how inspired I was by these guys and how lucky I felt to be working with them, not to mention the fact that we got to record at ‘United Recording’ (Also known for a while as ‘Ocean Way’) the legendary studio created by Bill Putnam back in the day that has heard pretty much every amazing musician at some point – The list is too great to mention………..
You might’ve heard of Frank Sinatra ?
Anyway, it was a wonderful week of exploration and excitement. There’s nothing more satisfying than great musicians bringing your songs to life.
I realise this middle part of the year, over about a 3 week period, had me in Canada finishing a tv show, Australia working on a film, the USA working on a new album and now I’m heading off to The Netherlands to have a baby………Holy shit….Slow down old man !!
So, that was the first half of the year. It was also peppered with reading up on as much ‘How to be a good dad’ literature as I could, as well as having some enlightening discussions with good friends who’ve already had children.
One of them did say to me “Suck it up princess”
Wish me luck !
X