EDITORIAL | THE DAD PERSPECTIVE
THE DAD PERSPECTIVE
greg ellis EMMY NOMINATED ACTOR, AUTHOR & FATHER
interview by Kimberly Davis Guerra | photos by Dani Brubaker
T
his month we have a treat! HFM spoke with Emmy nominated Hollywood actor Greg Ellis (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, STAR TREK, TITANIC) who over the last year has set out on a journey to explore the condition of the modern male experience via his brand-new video podcast, The Respondent. This show explores positive masculinity, family law, parenting, sexuality, men’s rights and more with celebrity, author, and expert interviews.
houston family magazine
22
AUGUST 2020
One of the core themes of The Respondent is family, and more specifically how and why families have become so torn. As a divorced father with two young sons, Greg has become increasingly concerned about the effects the family court legal system is having on families. Greg discusses how men are considered defective if they talk about their feelings and when it comes to the dwindling importance of fatherhood, and a legal system that practically promotes family dissolution, something has gone completely haywire.
WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO TAKE THIS IN-DEPTH LOOK INTO THE STRUGGLES OF MODERN MAN AT THIS TIME? Over the years, despite my achievements and all the trappings of professional success in Hollywood, I increasingly became immersed in superficial pursuits, wrestling with the shame I carried from my family of origin. Eventually, feeling as though I was drowning in emotional dishonesty, I committed to
re-aligning my moral compass and living with more purpose and meaning and set about creating aspirational projects that might ‘give back’ and be of service to others. Perhaps the gravest indicator at the root of American’s torn familial tapestry is marriage and family breakdown. Social ills and public policy stem from the health and well-being of relationships and family formation. Yet these days, our society seems to undervalue the importance of the family unit, the significant role a father plays in the developing minds
