Mark-Paul Gosselaar Says He Sees Himself as a ‘Husband’ and ‘Father’ First Before an ‘Actor’: ‘That’s My Every Day'

Mar. 15, 2025

Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s family is at the top of his priority list.

“I always say this: ‘I’m a husband first, a father second [and an] actor third,’ ” Gosselaar toldJennifer Hudson. “So, my day revolves around making sure my wife is good. Making sure the kids are good, and then I go to work for a little bit and then I come back.”

“But it’s all about kids' sports and just being dad, you know?” he explained of his daily routine.

TheFoundactor, who shares son Michael, 20, and daughter Ava, 18, with his ex Lisa Ann Russell, and son Dekker, 11, and daughter Lachlyn, 9, with McGinn, added that while he was “blessed” to be an actor, his family was his main focus.

“I feel so blessed that I have a job, and I get to do what I do because I love what I do,” he said. “But I just see myself as a husband and a father and that’s my day. And [my family] could care less [about] what I do.”

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Gosselaar opened up to PEOPLE in 2019 about thechallenges that come with fatherhood— especially having to juggle four kids who were growing at “different stages.”

“It is fun to see the different stages the [kids] are in,” he said, before joking, “We’re busy in all aspects of parenting at the moment, from short-order cooks to Uber drivers, to Postmates drivers, to Amazon delivery drivers. We’re covering all the bases.”

Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Catriona McGinn with their children.WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy

WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy

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While he may enjoy his job, he shared onSoleil Moon Frye’s Hulu documentary,Kid 90that he didn’t want his kids to follow in his footsteps because acting is “an adult business” —  which was something he was told early in his career.

“The director was saying, ‘The minute you walk through these double doors leading onto the stage, you’re no longer a child anymore, you’re an adult. You have to act like an adult,'” he recalled in the 2021 film.

“That’s one of the reasonsI don’t want my children in itis because I don’t feel it’s a place for children,” he added.

Foundairs on NBC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.

source: people.com