Steve Martin reveals why becoming a dad at 67 was the best decision for him

Steve Martin would've been a "lousy father" if he'd had a child any earlier than he did.

The 78-year-old actor has 11-year-old Mary with wife Anne Stringfield and explained that by becoming a dad in his late sixties, he avoided having to give his attention over to his career.

He told Closer US: "I think if I'd had a child earlier, I would have been a lousy father because I would have misplaced my attention on my career.

and mused that he has had such an "odd" time so far as he recalled being "riddled with anxiety" during his younger years but "really happy" now.

He said: "I see it as an antidote to the sort of anodyne interviews, generic things I've talked about a million times.

In the years before he started up his entertainment career as a comedian and then made the transition into Hollywood in the 1970s, the 'Cheaper by the Dozen' actor worked at Disneyland and reflected that there was "no experience like it" as he remembered working up to 10 hours a day and "learning so much" during his time at the world-famous theme park.