Chad Michael Murray aimed to become "half the man" his father was.
Chad Michael Murray always aimed to become 'half the man' his father was during his childhood
The 43-year-old actor grew up as one of five siblings with a single father and had enjoyed considerable success as a teen star in Hollywood by the time he woke up on his 25th birthday but "didn't feel good" so got himself a symbolic tattoo as a way of making a promise to himself that he would change.
Speaking on 'The Drew Barrymore Show', he said: "My dad was a single father and I always told myself that if I could be half the man he was, then I was doing all right.
"And my dad, God bless him air traffic controller, full-time job, all of us. We were bankrupt and he was just making ends meet, just to put food on the table. That will always sit right there, it will always be in my heart.
"It was my 25th birthday and I didn't feel good. So I made a decision that day, I went and got a tattoo. I grounded myself in faith and this is step one. It's a cross and it's the idea of it can be what you can make it.
"I started surrounding myself with older people who I respected, who had lived lives and had made mistakes and errors along the way and just started trying to become a little bit more like them and seeing their jovial spirits bounce around and I just made a lot of different decisions. Now, did that push me away from a lot of people? Oh, yeah."
The former 'Gilmore Girls' star - who is now married to Sarah Roemer and has two young daughters and son with her - now reflects on his values as a parent and insisted that there is nothing better than feeling content at night.
"I was doing this for my future wife and kids. I was just doing it because I just wanted to be a great husband and a great father."
"The greatest feeling that you can lay your head down at night. Usually it's like I wake up the next day and I'm like 'What did I say?' But I like putting my head down and just feeling grateful for the day, and grafeftul for the moment and saying 'Hey, we gave it all.' I could do ABCD better, especially as a parent."
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