TONY HALE FACING HIS FEARS

THE EMMY-WINNING ACTOR IS ON AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER WITH HIS NEW FILM INSIDE OUT 2 AND AS A DAD WATCHING HIS DAUGHTER GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL

- JACK SMART

Just how qualified is Tony Hale to play the role of Fear in Inside Out 2? “Well, I’ve had a lot of experience with it,” quips the actor, 53. In fact, he doesn’t need to look far for a recent source of fright in his life: A few weeks before the Disney and Pixar sequel’s June 14 release, the Emmy-winning Veep star and his wife, Martel Thompson, began the process of becoming empty nesters as their child graduated from high school.

“We’re taking it day-to-day,” says Hale of sending 18-year-old daughter Loy Ann off to college later this summer. “I am now grappling with my own transition in it all. Because we were a little unit, and now she’s going off and having independence. And we want her to have independence! But at the same time I’m like, ‘No, I want to be attached to your hip and make all your choices for you.’” He’s joking on that last point—mostly. “I’ll be surprised if I don’t rent the dorm room next to her,” says Hale with a laugh. “I’m going to get a meal card.”

Luckily Hale and his wife have a strong support system to help navigate the seismic transition. They regularly attend therapy, both together and separately, and are committed Christians: “Our faith is important to us,” says Hale, who grew up and fell in love with theater as a kid in Tallahassee, Fla. Thompson is an Emmy-winning makeup artist, and Hale is busier than ever in Hollywood, with roles this year alone in Jerry Seinfeld’s movie