“Dead Poets Society” star Robert Sean Leonard has revealed why he traded life in New York City for a quieter existence in New Jersey when it came time to raise his family.
The 57-year-old actor spent much of his younger life in Manhattan, even moving into his own apartment as a teenager.
But despite his longstanding connection to the city, Leonard says he knew he wanted something very different for his three daughters.
Leonard, who shares his children with wife Gabriella Salick, opened up about the family’s decision while speaking to People about his involvement in the latest installments of PBS’ “New York: A Documentary Film.”
Although Leonard grew up in Ridgewood, NJ, his acting career brought him across the Hudson River at an unusually young age.
“Dead Poets Society” star Robert Sean Leonard has revealed why he traded life in New York City for a quieter existence in New Jersey when it came time to raise his family. John M. Heller/Getty Images
At just 16, he moved into an apartment on 10th Avenue and 29th Street while pursuing his career onstage.
At the time, he had been working as Matthew Broderick’s understudy in a Neil Simon production before taking over the role when Broderick left to work on “WarGames.”
Leonard ultimately earned his high school diploma and attended Fordham University, all while continuing to build a career that would span theater, film, and TV.
He later relocated to Los Angeles as his TV career took off, most notably starring as Dr. James Wilson on “House” throughout the medical drama’s eight-season run.
But after Leonard and Salick started a family, the couple faced a much different question: Where did they want their children to grow up?
For Leonard, New York City wasn’t the answer.
“I knew I couldn’t do it in New York,” he told People.
Instead, the actor found himself drawn back to the New Jersey community where he had spent his own childhood.
His wife apparently understood the pull.
“My wife told me, ‘You need nostalgia. You bathe in it,’” Leonard revealed.
The move has allowed Leonard to give his daughters a childhood that mirrors parts of his own—and he has fully embraced his role as a suburban dad.
He now volunteers at the same grammar school he attended, handing out pizza on Thursdays, while one of his daughters cheers on the very high school field he once knew as a student.
The 57-year-old actor spent much of his younger life in Manhattan, even moving into his own apartment as a teenager. Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty ImagesBut despite his longstanding connection to the city, Leonard says he knew he wanted something very different for his three daughters.Getty ImagesLeonard, who shares his children with wife Gabriella Salick, opened up about the family’s decision while speaking to People about his involvement in the latest installments of PBS’ “New York: A Documentary Film.”Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
“I cherished all the times I had there. Now I’m handing out pizza on Thursdays at the same grammar school I went to. I’m watching my daughter cheerleading on the same high school field I went to. And I love it,” he said.
Still, Leonard isn’t suggesting that growing up in Manhattan is necessarily inferior.
He pointed to fellow actors Cynthia Nixon and Josh Hamilton, both of whom were raised in New York City, noting that they have compared their very different childhood experiences over the years.
For Leonard, however, raising his own family meant having access to some of the hallmarks of suburban life that he remembered from his youth—particularly a backyard and more space.
Despite choosing New Jersey as his family’s home base, Leonard’s ties to Manhattan remain strong.
He recently wrapped a Broadway run in Wendy Wasserstein’s “An American Daughter” and returned to another New York–centered project by narrating Episodes 9 and 10 of PBS’ “New York: A Documentary Film.”
The new installments, “Shadows of the Past” and “The Future of Cities,” examine decades of transformation in New York, including the period surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks and the city’s evolution in the years that followed.
For Leonard, the project offered yet another connection to a city that has played an enormous role in his life—even if he ultimately decided that raising his daughters there wasn’t for him.
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