Freddie Prinze Jr.: Why I Can’t Tell My Daughter About My New Role
Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP
You’d think with his upcoming cartoon role as the voice of Kanan the Cowboy Jedi on Disney XD ‘s Star Wars Rebels, Freddie Prinze, Jr. would be excited to tell his kids all about it.
But that’s not the case — and for good reason.
When it comes to daughter Charlotte Grace, 4, the eldest of his two children with The Crazy Ones star Sarah Michelle Gellar, Prinze admits he just can’t bear to break her heart.
“I don’t tell her, ‘Daddy does cartoon voices,’ because to her those characters are so real and magical. What kind of jerk would I be?” Prinze, 38, told PEOPLE during a preview of the show’s new Lego products at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.
The actor, who made a return to the small screen on Lifetime’s Witches of East End last October, says it’s probably best his daughter doesn’t know about Kanan.
“She loves villains. Her favorite character is Vader and she wants to kill Jedis,” says Prinze with a laugh. “I don’t know what my daughter will become.”
But even though Charlotte and son Rocky James, 18 months, aren’t in the know, Prinze says he’s excited enough for the whole family.
“It’s Star Wars, man! I got this scar on my chin after playing with some aluminum poles my cousin and I pretended were lightsabers. To be a part of this is surreal,” he explains.
As for his own son, “He’s big enough to play with Hot Wheels cars now without swallowing them.”
— Janine Rayford Rubenstein
