Bryan Greenberg Says Playing a Dad on 'One Tree Hill' Prepared Him for Fatherhood in Real Life (original) (raw)

Bryan Greenberg didn't want to be anything other than a great dad — and luckily, he was able to pull from his One Tree Hill character's experiences.

At a Q&A panel for a One Tree Hill anniversary event hosted by Friends with Benefit Charity Events in Wilmington, North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 21, Greenberg, 46, was joined by many of the show's cast members to discuss where their characters would be today and shared their experiences filming the series.

Asked what a lesson was that he learned from his character, Greenberg told PEOPLE that for him, it was about parenting.

"I learned how to be a good father. Now I'm a father in real life," the actor, who shares his 2-year-old twin sons with wife Jamie Chung, 41.

Greenberg portrayed Jake Jagielski on the show, who was a teenage father to his daughter Jenny.

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"He is a great father. That's the truth," Paul Johansson, 60, added of Greenberg.

"He's a great father. I want James to be a father now. He'll be a great dad too," Johansson said of his TV son James Lafferty, 39.

In May, Greenberg and Chung opened up to PEOPLE about being parents to twin boys, joking that they were in "survival mode."

“I used to judge people before I had kids,” Greenberg said. “And be like, "Oh, I would never let my kid watch TV. And now we have twins; we're just in survival mode. And I'm like, ‘If we got to put the iPad on and we're at a restaurant, don't judge us. Give us a break.’"

As their kids' personalities begin to bloom, the couple noted that the current stage is “so sweet and fun,” said Chung, who believes in candor about this stage of her life, having previously opened up about the “tender topic” of the couple’s fertility journey.

“I just can't fake it,” said the actress, who was equally transparent about coping with postpartum depression. “I mean, I just had a massive breakdown the other day, and I was like, ‘I don't know what I signed up for. I didn't know it was going to be this hard.’ And then the next day I'm like, ‘Okay, let's go! What do you guys want to do today? Should we color? Should we do some things?’”

In December, Chung shared their holiday celebrations on a large family trip to Disneyland, which she posted on Instagram.

"Fun morning hanging with our cousins. We were on cloud nine until the third morning meltdown. Then we all cried a bit before heading back to the car," she wrote. "Success!"

"Praying for all the parents this holiday break. 🖤 Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!"

Later, Chung posed with the two boys and their dog on the beach in a quieter moment, sharing her holiday wishes once again, writing, "Merry Christmas."