In Walking with Sam, Andrew McCarthy shares his strong bond with his son, Sam McCarthy, and expresses his wish to have a close relationship with him, something he did not experience with his own father, Stephen.
Growing up as the third son out of four to parents Stephen and Dorothy, St Elmo’s Fire star Andrew McCarthy had a distant relationship with his father, while he was quite close with his mother.
He shared a post on his Facebook on Father’s Day 2023, dedicating it to his father. He wrote, “I hated my father when I was a young man. As I was growing up, his temper was explosive and apt to erupt at any moment. He terrified me. I kept a safe distance…“
Andrew McCarthy aims to be a present father, unlike his father!
Born and raised in New Jersey along with his 3 brothers, Andrew’s mother worked for a newspaper while his father was involved in investments and stocks.
Despite his strong bond with his mother, Andrew’s upbringing was marked by tension due to his father’s volatile temper, which led him to leave home at 17 and sever ties with his father. However, many years later, they reconciled.
He visited his father on his deathbed, where he expressed love and apologized for not meeting his father’s expectations.
However, he resolved not to let his son experience the same hardships he had. This inspiration led him to write his book and embark on the Camino de Santiago journey with his son, Sam.
In an interview, Andrew states, “…avoid replicating that pattern. This motivation underpinned the decision to write my book. As my son transitioned into adulthood, I aspired to reconfigure our relationship, to evolve it from a parent-child dynamic into a bond between two adults.“
The walk with his son deepened their bond, weaving through conversations that ranged from his recent romantic break-up to reflections on Andrew’s past divorce from his mother.
Therefore, Andrew’s bond with his father motivated him to foster stronger relationships and actively engage as a father to his children.
Additional Information
- Andrew Thomas McCarthy, 61, the renowned American actor, travel writer, and television director, was born on November 29, 1962.
- He had his first child, Sam, with his first wife, Carol Schneider. After their divorce, he married Dolores Rice in 2011 and has two children with her, Willow and Rowan.
