As the due date for Storks to arrive in theaters draws near, Kelsey Grammer has some big baby news to celebrate. No, he’s not expecting a wing-delivered bundle of joy, but his wife, Kayte Walsh, is pregnant with their third child together!
Greer Grammer, the 61-year-old’s daughter from a previous relationship, confirmed the joyous news during a recent interview.
People reports that when asked if she was excited to have another sibling on the way, the 24-year-old actress replied: “Yes! Yeah, yeah. I’m super excited. I think my dad and Kayte are the best parents. They love having little kids and they want a huge family, so I think it’s just really exciting.”
Kelsey and Kayte welcomed son Kelsey Gabriel Elias in July 2014, while their daughter Faith now 4. His four other children from previous relationships include daughters Spencer, Greer, Mason Olivia, and son Jude Gordon.
I was lucky enough to recently have the chance to speak with Kelsey in person, in celebration of his role in Storks — and I could tell firsthand this is a man who is excited about his family, or “flock.”
Playing off the theme that families are made in a number of ways, and come in a wide rainbow of varieties, the group of bloggers I was in asked the man who plays big boss Hunter, “When was it you felt like you found your true flock?“
Kelsey shared with us: “For me, I found my professional family a lot sooner than I did find my personal close family. That’s really the last six years since I met my wife Kayte, but it’s been fantastic. It just proves that when it comes you should enjoy it, because it may take a while.”
I could be mistaken, but from my place in the room I thought I heard his voice catch while saying these words, and tears threatening. It was endearingly honest and sweet.
More from Kelsey Grammer and our Storks interview (including why someone once threatened to call child protective services on him decades ago!):
What interested you in your role in Storks?
Kelsey Grammer: "Well, I am attracted to animated films basically because I have children and because I am grateful to all the actors that voiced the movies that were important to me when I was a child.
"I still think that animated films are probably the best movies being made today, and I think that may have been true for a long time. 101 Dalmatians is still one of my favorite movies, and I watch that all the time with my daughter. So, every time somebody calls me to do one of these, it's a presumptive joy."
(All images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Do you find it difficult to play the villain?
Kelsey: "Nah, it's like water off a duck's back. That's the kind of hairpin I am...I'm good at playing bad guys because I'm also good at playing good guys. I understand the human experience, and that's been my devotion for a long time now."
As a kid, did you believe in the storks-delivering-babies lore?
Kelsey: "Did not buy into it, never believed it, but liked it...Man just makes up this stuff. It's great. We're imagining weird, creative beings, and we've been doing it forever. The great poets, the great writers, the great stories that have been told, these are all what make us, you know, look at this world that we've been given, this extraordinary place where we live. And to look at a stork one day and think, 'They bring babies,' who did that? I love it."
Kelsey (continued): "And of course, when I have a real conversation with my children at the age appropriate moment, I tell them the amount of nuts and bolts I think they can actually handle. So, my 4-year-old would ask about a stork and I'd say, 'Not really, honey. That's just a game we play because it's fun to imagine it. It's about mom and dad loving each other, and if we just do it right then we get to have a family.' When they're 15, I have that other conversation."
You play a tough boss in Storks. Have you ever had an intimidating boss?
Kelsey: "I was a busboy at a restaurant called Magic Pan. And then I got a job on a soap opera, like a four day run, what they call an under five. And so, I walked up to the boss and I said, 'Listen, I've been given this job on One Life to Live. Can I go?' And he said, 'Well, you have to cover your shifts.'"
Kelsey (continued): "So I tried, and nobody could cover them. And I called that morning and I just [said], 'Listen, I'm really, really sorry about this. Someone's going to have to do it,' ... they put me on report to the Magic Pan Corporation. They brought me in and called me on the carpet and said, 'We are concerned that you may not be Magic Pan family material.'
"I said, 'Okay.' I was going to go to work, and then I stopped at the door and I turned around and I said, 'You know what? I'm not Magic Pan family material. I got to go.'"
What was one of the funniest parts to record during filming?
Kelsey: "My favorite part in the movie is from my own character in the moment when I say, 'They're penguins. They're very nurturing. You know, they did a whole documentary about it.'"
In the movie there's a theme about balance between career and work. How do you make it work?
Kelsey: "Less work, more family. That's what my life is now. When I was 28 and I had my first child, it was a little more work, a little less family, and I actually still kind of regret it. But there's almost nothing else you can do at that time in your life.
"That's when you're carving out your identity as what you're going to do for the rest of your life. And showing up for things is important, and you want to be there for your kids. So, honestly, with my first child, I took her to rehearsals with me a lot of the time. And she would sit in her little--it was called then a Maxi Taxi. This was 35 years ago. The Maxi Taxi was, like, the first sort of like semi portable baby seat. It was pretty cute."
Kelsey (continued): "But because I was on a theater schedule, I also took her with me to the bar after the show. She'd sit on the bar and sleep there while I'd have my chicken wings. I'd have my chicken wings and shoot a game of pool, and then I'd take her home and we'd go to sleep. She'd wake up around 10:00 a.m. in the morning. So, she was on my schedule.
"I did get in some trouble at that point. Somebody said, 'We're going to report you to child services.' I said, 'What the hell for? My child is cared for. She's eating. She is very happy.' And they went, 'Yes, you're right. I'm sorry.'"
It’s funny how you think you “know” a celebrity from their roles and various late night chat show appearances, and then you hear them get serious about their families and a whole new facet of their personality comes out.
Especially seeing as how Kelsey and Kayte know the pain of loss firsthand, I wholeheartedly am wishing them a safe and healthy pregnancy. I hope we’ll hear word of baby joy for them in the coming months, and in the meantime I’ll be gathering up my two boys for a movie date. This film has all the laughs you’re hoping for, but also hits right in the feels. I’ll be sneaking a few hugs in at the theater, for sure.
Storks hits theaters this Friday, September 23! A peek at the flock-filled flick:
Who are the treasured members you’re proud to call a part of your flock?
Share herePhotos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
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Disclaimer: I was the guest of Warner Bros. Pictures at a press event for Storks. This is not a sponsored post. I received no compensation or products in exchange for writing this post. As always, all opinions are my own.
