It’s no secret that we love honoring celebrity — and any, really — moms around here. After all, moms do a ton. But we do frequently complain that male celebs who are dads don’t get asked how they “do it all” in the same way that moms constantly do. So, in honor of the 2020 Oscars and cool celeb dads everywhere, we’ll give them equal attention here. Because every Oscar Dad — from Best Supporting Oscar winner Brad Pitt to presenter Oscar Isaac — had to rely on hired help, partners and/or exes in order to balance their family life with their demanding careers and just plain get to the Oscars.
That’s our intellectual rationale for this slideshow, anyway. Don’t let anyone tell you we’re doing this just because we wanted an excuse to gaze at more photos of Mahershala Ali and Taika Waititi again. This is purely out of fairness, people. And that’s why you’re looking at it too, isn’t it?
In all seriousness, it does add something to Mark Ruffalo’s sexiness to imagine him taking his kids to the playground and volunteering with the PTA. OMG, do you think Denzel Washington ever did family day at school? This gives so much more meaning to their performances!
A version of this story was originally published February 9, 2020.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Miranda is dad to Sebastian and Francisco Miranda, his kids with wife Vanessa Nadal. He wasn’t nominated this week, but was in 2017 — for Best Original Song (“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana).
Adam Driver
Oscar nominee Adam Driver and his wife Joanne Tucker are parents to a 3-ish-year-old son about whom they’re aggressively private. In fact, they kept his existence hidden from the press for two years.
“My job is to be a spy — to be in public and live life and have experience. But, when you feel like you’re the focus, it’s really hard to do that,” Driver told The New Yorker in 2019 of what he called the “military operation” to keep his kid’s life private. Hey, we Normals can only imagine the stress of living — and parenting — in the spotlight. So, respect.
Taika Waititi
Best screenplay winner Taika Waititi probably has his two kids to thank for how well he worked with the children in Jojo Rabbit. Waititi, who is of Maori descent, dedicated his win to “all the indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance, and write stories. We are the original storytellers, and we make it here as well.”
Michael Strahan
We have no idea why Michael Strahan was at the Academy Awards, but maybe his four kids do. The former New York Giants player is dad to Tanita Strahan, Sophia Strahan, Isabella Strahan, and Michael Strahan Jr.
Brad Pitt
How does a man with six kids accomplish as much as Brad Pitt has? (Well, that’s a complicated one…) The 2020 Best Actor winner for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywooddedicated the win to his brood: “This is for my kids, who color everything I do,” Pitt told the audience. “I adore you.”
Oscar Isaac
Oscar Isaac and wife Elvira left a new baby and toddler at home to go to the Academy Awards. Talk about an epic date night: “We might see how much we can push the clock on the babysitter,” Isaac joked with E! News about his sons at home.
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington got to see John David Washington, his oldest of four kids, make the awards show rounds last year. But dad’s still got it.
Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas brought daughter Stella to the show, along with girlfriend Nicole Kimpel. Banderas was nominated for his first Oscar (Best Actor for his role in Pain & Glory).
Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali’s daughter has always grown up with an Oscar-winning dad. Ali won his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this week, for his performance in Green Book.
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is everyone’s dad, but also legit, still a hot dad. Wait, that sounded weird.
Eminem
Why was Eminem at the Oscars? We’ll stop asking. But if his daughters want to tell us, we’re listening.
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