Tony Hale Jokes He's Only Taking New Roles to 'Stop Crying' About Being an Empty Nester (Exclusive)

Kayla Grant, Abby SternWed, May 27, 2026 at 8:45 PM UTC

0

Tony Hale attends the Netflix's "Office Romance" World Premiere
Credit: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty -

Tony Hale is still adjusting to being an empty nester

The Arrested Development alum recently chatted with PEOPLE at the world premiere of Netflix's Office Romance, where he opens up about his career, the upcoming Toy Story movie and being an empty nester

During the conversation, Hale joked that he's been taking on new roles since becoming an empty nester to "stop crying" while his daughter is out of the house

Tony Hale is still adjusting to being an empty nester.

The Arrested Development star, 55, recently chatted with PEOPLE on Tuesday, May 26, at the world premiere of Netflix's Office Romance at the Egyptian Theatre in California, where he opened up about his career, the upcoming Toy Story movie and being an empty nester.

During the conversation, Hale, who shares his daughter Loy, 20, with his wife Martel Thompson, jokes that he's been taking on new roles since becoming an empty nester to "stop crying" about his daughter being out of the house.

Loy Ann Hale and Tony Hale attend Amazon Studios "Being the Ricardos" Los Angeles Premiere Amazon Studios 'Being the Ricardos' film premiere, Los Angeles, California in December 2021.
Credit: Todd Williamson/January Images/Shutterstock

Hale goes on to talk about the "new phase" he's entered, describing it as a "little bit of an identity shift."

"It is wild because we just moved, actually, to Birmingham, Alabama — my wife and I — to be closer to family. I don't know how to say it. It's a little bit of an identity shift," he says. "I'm always a dad, but you're very reminded you're a dad when she's around, and then when she does her own thing and she moves away, you're like, 'Okay, wow.'"

"Every time she's leaving the house and not like, 'Be careful, drive safely,' I have to let her go," he adds. "It's a new phase."

Back in September 2024, Hale spoke with PEOPLE about his movie Sketch ahead of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and shared that he "just dropped off" his daughter at college for the first time.

Advertisement

"So I'm in that kind of vulnerable space," he admitted at the time. "But it's all about — you just want to protect them all the time. You know?"

"I mean, my daughter's 18 years old and, you know, you're constantly trying not to live in the 'what if?' " Hale added. "You're constantly trying to stay present and love them and not create narratives and scenarios that, you know, are crazy that could happen to them."

"And so when it's evident that something [happened] and you go to the school bus and they're not there and something is happening, it's just panic, you know? And so it's almost like living out what is every parent's fear," he continued. "I mean, good lord, I've lived in so many narratives in my head as a parent that have never happened, but man, it feels like they're happening or that it could happen."

Tony Hale and his daughter Loy Ann Hale attend the world premiere of Pixar's "Inside Out 2" at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on June 10, 2024.
Credit: MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

While discussing his favorite moments in the movie, the Emmy-winning actor again related his own experience with fatherhood to a key point in the film in which his character apologizes for his mistakes to his children.

"I think me as a parent, those times when I say to my daughter, 'I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that, that was a mistake,' " he said. "The power and the acknowledgment of a parent's mistake is really, really beautiful, I think."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”