A father provides comfort, advice, safety; he comes in many forms, does many jobs, fixes many—countless, really—problems. He is a rock, a constant truth, and often, a total goof.
Here, in honour of Father’s Day, are five MONTECRISTO cover stars who also happen to be very cool dads.
David Duchovny
Covering our Winter 2015 issue, The X-Files actor David Duchovny has also begun dipping his toe into music. For him, it’s about acknowledging that you don’t know what you are capable of until you try it. Teaching this to his kids is one of the reasons he started playing guitar in the first place. “I wanted them to watch me sucking at something and learning it and being frustrated and working hard just to get decent—not even good, just to even get mediocre—I had to work hard to get mediocre,” he told us, before adding: “I wish I learned this earlier in my life.” Of course, as Duchovny proves, it is never too late.
Carlo Ancelotti
As a celebrated European soccer coach (currently at the helm of Bayern Munich), Carlo Ancelotti is a natural leader. Even when he is discussing his work, the words could be taken as advice for life. “The most important word in football is balance,” the father of two says in our Spring 2016 cover article. “That means both with, and without, the ball. My job is to convince each player to have the same goals, put the team above all else.” A family is a team, after all.
Oliver Stone
A great father is a great storyteller, able to put kids on his knee and transport them to imaginary places. In this way, filmmaker and Summer 2014 cover feature Oliver Stone must be a true treat to his children. Aside from making great movies, including the Academy Award-winning Born on the Fourth of July, he is also a firm believer in the strongest feeling that binds people together, stating: “Real love is real power.” Indeed.
Francis Mallmann
Even before being on the hit Netflix show Chef’s Table, Francis Mallmann was considered the cream of the crop. His love of fire has made him a household name, and has undoubtedly made for some truly fantastic meals around the dinner table for his children—hopefully paired with memorable lines of wisdom. “Life is full of adversity,” he told us for our Winter 2014 cover. “I love adversity. I try to embrace adversity. And I think that drama and sadness make the most beautiful engine of the world and of human beings. There is more inspiration in drama than in happiness.”
Mike Horn
Having often taken youth on guided expeditions (and with two kids of his own), explorer and adventurer Mike Horn is no stranger to imparting knowledge and insight on expanding minds. “Anybody can do it. They just don’t necessarily know the recipe,” he told us for our Winter 2011 cover story. “I can give them the recipe, but they must bake the cake. This is not about saving the world. It’s simply about changing the way we live—the way we coexist with the planet.” When he’s going full-tilt, Horn can put himself in dangerous situations, but he always keeps the real goal in mind. “Why do I survive?” he asked us. “So that I can return to my wife and daughters in Switzerland. I must survive.”
Should we all be so lucky to have, or have had, such survivors of our own.
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