Steve Martin on being a father at age 71: 'It's fantastic'

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Steve Martin: Being an old dad is the best

Fox411: 71-year-old funnyman has 4-year-old daughter

At age 71, Steve Martin is a father to a 4-year-old  — and he thinks "it’s fantastic.”

“...If I’d had a child earlier, I would have been a lousy father, because I would have misplaced my attention on my career,” the actor/comedian told AARP The Magazine for their June/July issue.

Martin welcomed a baby girl for the first time at age 67 in 2013 with his wife, 45-year-old Anne Stringfield. These days, he’s determined not to make the same mistakes of his own father.

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“I am very forthcoming with her, and it’s great,” he said. “She’s giving me way more than I’m giving her.”

Martin described his life now as a “very, very happy one.”

“I mean, it’s actually the perfect shape of a life,” he added. “Except the hard parts in the beginning — the disharmony, panic, pain, with occasional moments of great moments and comedy success.”

Martin’s journey to happiness both personally and professionally wasn’t an easy one. Despite being a beloved stand-up, Martin revealed performing in clubs was always stressful for him, and even recalling those memories make him cringe to this day.

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“I was in clubs,” he said. “And they’re seedy, and there’s cheap wine and talking and noise.”

Getting older had benefits for the star. During his youth, Martin also suffered from panic attacks and hypochondria. But in recent years, those feelings stopped.

“I was worried all these years that I was going to die, and I never did,” he joked. “So why waste all that worry?”

Martin also shared it took him a while to realize that fame doesn’t make you successful, or even personally fulfilled.

“It’s been a gentle up-hill slope to a real, real happiness,” he said.