Jason Sudeikis’ Rare Quotes About Fatherhood While Coparenting With Ex Olivia Wilde: ‘Being Present Is a Good Quality’

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Jason Sudeikis' Rare Quotes About Fatherhood While Coparenting With Ex Olivia Wilde: 'Being Present Is a Good Quality'

His greatest role! Over the years, Jason Sudeikis has offered glimpses at his life as a father of two kids. The former Saturday Night Live cast member expanded his family when then-fiancée Olivia Wilde welcomed their son, Otis, in April 2014. The actress later gave birth to their daughter, Daisy, in October 2016. Sudeikis and Wilde, who announced their engagement in 2013, remained tight-lipped about their little ones during their relationship. In November 2020, Us Weekly confirmed that the pair called it quits after a seven-year engagement. Their split continued to make headlines when Wilde started dating Harry Styles, shortly after they met on the set of her film Don't Worry Darling. "I'll have a better understanding of why [the split happened] in a year," Sudeikis told GQ in July 2021. "And an even better one in two, and an even greater one in five, and it'll go from being, you know, a book of my life to becoming a chapter to a paragraph to a line to a word to a doodle." He added: "That's an experience that you either learn from or make excuses about. You take some responsibility for it, hold yourself accountable for what you do, but then also endeavor to learn something beyond the obvious from it." Following the major life change, the Horrible Bosses star shifted his focus to his professional career amid his show Ted Lasso's worldwide success. As the hit show continued to win awards, Sudeikis used the opportunity to praise his kids publicly. [jwplayer MOI7inI5-zhNYySv2] The writer, who developed and starred in Ted Lasso as the lead, mentioned his children at the Golden Globes, the Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. In February 2021, Sudeikis joked about how Otis and Daisy would respond after he won his first Golden Globe. "Their reaction is completely selfish," he teased during his virtual speech. "The way they want to celebrate is by having, you know, Coco Pops cereal — or Cocoa Puffs. I ... It'll have nothing to do with me because again, they're 6 and 4, and they're selfish little demons. I can't believe they're not going to give me any respect." Sudeikis' relationship with Wilde became a topic of conversation again when the director was served custody papers at CinemaCon in April 2022. At the time, a source told Us that Sudeikis did not have prior knowledge of when the documents would be delivered. “He would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner," the insider said. The Booksmart director, for her part, slammed the decision to serve her publicly four months later. “The only peo­ple who suffered were my kids, because they’ll have to see that, and they shouldn’t ever have to know that happened," she told Variety in August 2022. "For me, it was appalling, but the victims were an 8­ and 5 year-­old, and that’s really sad. I chose to become an actress. I willingly walked into the spotlight. But it’s not something my children have asked for. And when my kids are dragged into it, it’s deeply painful.” Sudeikis addressed the way the documents were handed to his ex, writing in a custody motion, "Olivia's talk was an important event for Olivia, both professionally and personally, and I am very, very sorry that the incident marred her special moment." Scroll down for Sudeikis' most candid quotes about being a father:

Credit: Courtesy of Olivia Wilde/Instagram

April 2019

The actor weighed in on what makes for good parenting qualities, telling Us at a red carpet event, “I think staying around is the trick. Being present is a good quality. At least I’ll know how I screwed them up!”

Credit: Courtesy of Olivia Wilde/Instagram

August 2020

According to the comedian, his experience as a father helped inspire his role in Ted Lasso. "I don't know who is teaching who at any given point to be honest with you. I feel like we swap roles between Yoda and Luke Skywalker just about every other sentence," he shared with E! News about his parenting methods.

Sudeikis pointed out that any parent is a coach "by default" when it comes to their kids. "You have to. Even if you don't want to, you're still doing it by example," he added, referring to his character in the hit Apple TV+ series.  

Credit: Courtesy of Olivia Wilde/Instagram

February 2021

During the Golden Globe Awards, Sudeikis offered a glimpse at his parenting when he discussed reading "The Three Questions" by Leo Tolstoy to his son.

"He has these three questions, like, 'When's the best time to do things? What is the right thing to do? And then who is the most important one?'" the Virginia native explained during his acceptance speech. "That last question, 'Who is the most important one,' is, like, whoever the person [is that] you're with. So, I kind of reject the premise of being the best actor, because in my opinion the best actor is the person you're acting with."

Credit: Ash Knotek/Shutterstock for SAG Awards

October 2021

"My last show [at SNL] was in 2013 and since then, I have had two amazing children: Otis and Daisy," the Sleeping With Other People actor said during his monologue. "Great kids, just incredible kids. Um, I don’t know how old they are exactly, so I just don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff; they’re like this and this tall."

He continued: “But, they’re great. You gotta trust me on that.”

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

September 2022

After winning for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys, Sudeikis gushed about his kids while accepting the award. "Otis [and] Daisy, I love you very much," he added while on stage.

Sudeikis elaborated on how his children feel about his comedy during a press conference, saying, "I don't know [if they know how funny I am. They have a lot of notes, but it's mostly about structure and life: 'Can we shave some time here, Jason? Dad?' But, you know. You'd have to ask them, but they're not here — yet."

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

March 2023

The actor said he and Wilde hope to show their kids how to choose a career they love.

"They know [Ted Lasso cocreators] Brendan [Hunt] and Joe [Kelly] real well, and so they see how much we hang out, and laugh and enjoy each other's company," Sudeikis told Entertainment Tonight. "May any of us get the opportunity to find a job where you have so much fun doing it. And if that's the example that myself and Olivia, provide for them, then I'm happy about that. It doesn't have to be in this business necessarily ... Daisy wants to be about 10 different things."

He added that being a dad helps him play parents on screen, explaining, "I don't think I'm a good enough actor to do that kind of make-believe without having that kind of love that enters your life when you have kids."

Credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC

March 2023

During an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Sudeikis joked that Otis and Daisy developed subtle British accents while they were living in London as their dad filmed Ted Lasso. "They started to get little tiny accents, but not enough. They got as far as, like, Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins," the comedian quipped. "[More like], someone's laying in on their Disney+ a lot."

The proud dad added that his kids "love making up songs" together using the karaoke setups he bought for himself and friend Will Forte. "I truly believe it was because I had the wherewithal to watch the Billie Eilish documentary," Sudeikis explained. "And so when you see Billie and her older brother, Finneas, making music together and making each other laugh ... I think they took that and they're like, 'OK, we're gonna do this.'"