First we loved him in the Champ, then we loved him in Silver Spoons and NYPD Blue and Scrubs and 24 and a whole lot more, including the critically acclaimed Lonesome Dove. Who? Well, Ricky Schroder, of course, the blond-hair, blue-eyed actor we’ve been tuning into on our televisions for more than three decades now.
Schroder – whose credits include more than 50 movies and 250 episodes of television series – stars in a Hallmark Movie Channel Original, Our Wild Hearts.
Interview With Rick And Cambrie Schroder
You could say Our Wild Hearts is a family affair for the 42-year-old actor. The film, which Schroder also produced and directed, was written by Schroder and his wife, Andrea, for their 16-year-old daughter, Cambrie. The Schroders other children – Holden (21), Luke (19) and Faith (12) – also star in the film. Your Teen caught up with Schroder and Cambrie, now a sophomore in high school, to find out more.
“I had the best time,” says Ricky. “I got to know my daughter so much better and my family got to know me in ways in which you wouldn’t know your father unless you worked with him.”
Cambrie came up with the idea for Our Wild Hearts and pitched it to her parents when she was still in middle school. “When I was about 10, I decided that I really wanted to try acting. I went on a few auditions and I loved it. My parents didn’t really encourage me or discourage me. They let me explore it and figure out if it was a passion or a stage. When they saw I was serious, they decided to help me,” says the actress.
Our Wild Hearts was filmed outside Los Angeles on the same ranch where the television series Little House on the Prairie was shot. The Schroders often commuted together to the set.
Spending lots of time together was nothing new for the family, who had spent a year together in Spain. “I am so close to my family,” says Cambrie, who, yes, is fluent in Spanish. “We have so much fun together and they always have my best interest at heart.”
Like the decision to home-school Cambrie while she was filming Our Wild Hearts. “I was sad at the time,” she says. “But looking back, it was a great decision. I was able to ground myself and learn who I am and what I stand for.”
Indeed, chatting with Schroder, it’s not hard to see why this Hollywood family is so close-knit. “I like my kids a lot,” he says. “Parenting is challenging, but we have good communication skills in our family. My wife has brought this to our marriage and our home. My children are able to speak their own minds and share their opinions.”
What’s the toughest part, Your Teen wondered? “I am the worry-wart in the family,” concedes Schroder. “I guess you never stop worrying as a parent.”
Cambrie affectionately agrees. “Both my parents worry, but my dad texts me like 12 times a day, ‘When will you be home?’”
