Peter Sarsgaard Says Stage Is Decadent When You’re a Dad

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For actors Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal, being a good parent to Ramona, turning 2 on Friday, means alternating jobs so that she has the undivided attention of either mom or dad at all times. That arrangement was recently put to the test, however, when Peter was offered the opportunity to play Trigorin in the Broadway production of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull; he was just coming off a film shoot, while Maggie was heading off to one of her own.

Although he ultimately decided to accept the part, Peter says that the relatively meager pay of a stage role was yet another factor for consideration. "It’s a decadent thing to me for some reason," Peter, 37, says. "I guess because it doesn’t nourish my family directly as much as me going off and doing a movie." 

"If a father’s job is to go out and bring things home for his family — and grab as many things as he can grab — then [acting on Broadway] is not particularly the way to do it."

Ramona is the first child for the couple, who began dating in 2002 and were engaged in 2006. The Seagull, also starring Kristin Scott Thomas, officially opens October 1st at the Walter Kerr Theater. 

Source: Canadian Press