Paul Bettany: Fatherhood Can Be Scary

Paul Bettany is a devoted dad to his kids with his wife Jennifer Connelly, but the Broken Lines star admits that the early years of parenthood "scare the s**t" out of him.

Arriving for an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian, Paul offers to ditch his iPhone but then has a quick change of heart: "Oh, let me turn this off," he says. "Oh no, I shouldn't turn this off. Don't judge me.... I have a very small baby. Do you have kids? They're great, great – the first three years they just scare the shit out of you."

That "very small baby" is daughter Agnes Lark, who joined big brothers Stellan, 8, and Kai, 14, in June. Though he "love[s] making films," Paul says it can be hard when work takes him away from his family.

"It's so weird, so difficult and occasionally heartbreaking," he admits. "I have a rule that we'll never go more than two weeks without seeing each other."

As for his very talented wife, when the interviewer points out that they seem to have one of Hollywood's strongest relationships, Paul seems surprised.

"Oh my f**king God!" he laughs. "Really? Well, the thing is, we've been married for eight years, which is like 50 years in Hollywood years. So I suppose it suddenly becomes really intriguing – 'How do they do it!'"