“Sherlock” star Martin Freeman is brutally honest in describing his shortcomings as a parent, admitting that when his son Joe, 14, and daughter Grace, 11, were younger he called them “little f–kers” and smacked them.
“I have smacked my kids,” the 48-year-old actor said in a new interview with the UK’s Sunday Times. “When they were very young. I smacked my kids, yes. And it’s not like a victory. It’s not, ‘Oh, I must be doing something right!
“But I have done it. When it is route one to something they need to understand and I cannot rationalize with them. Also I was impatient and at the end of my rope.”
Freeman, whose shares the kids with actress ex Amanda Abbington, confessed that it was a rule in their home not to do either but he had broken them more than once.
“The Hobbit” star is currently promoting “Breeders,” an FX black comedy about the trials and tribulations of raising children.
“I’ve always been open about my shortcomings as a parent, because I’m a pretty good dad,” Freeman said. “A demonstrably loving father. And I’m not even sure I shout more than others, but I admit to it more than almost anybody. And, well, I’m doing a f–king show about it.”
Freeman admitted that he still struggles with maintaining patience but definitely shouts less as his kids mature and welcomes it when his kids let him know he’s out of line.