“Now he’s more into like ‘Lion King’ and ‘Moana’ and dinosaur movies.”
Chris Pratt is giving stepparents, like his wife, the credit they deserve.
The 46-year-old “Jurassic World” actor shares three kids — daughters Lyla Maria, 4, and Eloise Christina, 3, and son Ford Fitzgerald, 8 months — with his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt, per People.
He also shares a 12-year-old son Jack with his ex-wife Anna Faris, according to the outlet.
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On July 15, Pratt and Schwarzenegger opened up about the joys and challenges of raising kids in a blended family during a joint appearance on the “Parenting & You with Dr. Shefali” podcast.
At one point in the episode, Schwarzenegger urges her fellow stepparents to hire a stepparenting coach — something she did early on in her relationship with Pratt.
"I got that right when we got engaged," Schwarzenegger said to Dr. Shefali. "It's been incredibly helpful for me and also just in understanding my role as a stepparent."
She went on to describe stepparenting as “extra confusing” since there’s “no handbook” for it.
“You aren't a parent, you're not a nanny, you're not an assistant. You have responsibilities in all of those areas, but you're not either of them,” she explained on the podcast.
But one thing that can make stepparenting easier? Co-parents that are on the same page.
“It works when everybody is willing to put in the work,” Schwarzenegger said — later adding that “this isn’t about any of us, it’s about the child, their happiness, their well-being.”
Pratt compares stepparenting to mo-cap acting
Pratt might not be a stepparent himself, but he witnesses it enough with his wife to make a comparison.
"It's a tough job,” he said when asked if he had any advice for stepparents. “Stepparenting is a little bit like mo-cap acting because, in the end, you don't end up getting the credit you deserve.”
Mo-cap acting — or motion capture acting — is when actors wear sensors to record movements and expressions that are then translated into digital data for use in animation, per BIMM University.
In other words, the actor does all the work but the animated characters (and voice actors) get the credit.
“If a parent is in there doing the hard work, in the paint, of creating structure for a child and holding children accountable and it’s not a biological child, it can feel thankless,” Pratt explained.
He went on to describe stepparenting as an “investment that pays off in the long run.”
“At the end of the day, when kids grow up and become adults, I think in hindsight they recognize the hard work that went into it,” he added.
You can watch their full conversation on stepparenting below:
The couple’s comments come roughly four months after Schwarzenegger welcomed her stepparenting coach, Ashley Graber, onto her “BDA Baby” podcast.
“Anybody who says, ‘Oh, what’s it like being a step parent?’” she said in the March 26 episode. “I’m like, ‘You need a step-parenting coach, which is what Ashley was for me.”
On the podcast, Schwarzenegger reveals that she met Graber through her sister, Christina, who sent her one of Graber’s articles about blended families.
At the time, Schwarzenegger had just announced her engagement to Pratt.
She said she eventually turned to Garber for guidance as she began her own journey as a step parent, and described that decision as the “best choice” she ever made.
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“I love being a step parent and it’s been such a wonderful experience, but a step-parenting coach is essential — just like a parenting coach for so many people,” she added.
