Chris O’Donnell is the star of a hit TV series, a husband and doting dad of five, but has seamlessly been able to do it all and still find time to support a good cause.
“It’s just about priorities more than anything. My family will always be my first priority and work is right up there,” the NCIS: Los Angeles star, 43, told PEOPLE on Monday as he wore his orange shirt in honor of Hunger Action Month.
“Orange is the color of hunger. I’m just going out and helping [ConAgra Foods] raise awareness, getting people involved with social media to spread the word by taking pictures of any sort of orange moment [and] posting it on different social channels with the hashtag #orangeforhunger,” shares O’Donnell.
With a full schedule, O’Donnell is quick to admit he’s not “getting to coach all of [the kids’] sports teams like [he] used to, but any free time goes to them.”
They even occasionally visit dad on the Paramount set. “If we’re on the lot in Paramount and it’s a slow day, I love having the kids pop over even just for a quick visit. The little ones aren’t that interested in me, they’re more interested in craft service,” says O’Donnell with a laugh, “but the older ones are generally interested in the process.”
O’Donnell’s kids – Lily, 14, Chip, 12, Charlie, 10, Finley, 7½, and Maeve, 5½ — aren’t the only NCIS: L.A. babies though. Costar Eric Christian Olsen and his wife recently welcomed their baby boy, while Daniela Ruah just announced she and her husband are expecting their first child.
When asked if his costars were ready for the sleepless nights, O’Donnell jokes that “[He] has been coming in with some bags under his eyes. Eric is right in the thick of it.”
But as for mommy-to-be Ruah, O’Donnell says, “She’ll get there. She’s just so excited and amped up, getting her little nursery ready at home.”
The best piece of advice O’Donnell can offer the two? Get the little ones in a routine right away.
“I can’t say that I was the one responsible for getting them on a schedule — that was my wife,” says the actor. “But having witnessed it over and over, the quicker you can get your kids on a schedule for sleeping, napping and eating, it makes life easier for everybody.”
– Mariah Haas