Men's Health

Q&A With Judd Apatow

You’ve been married for 15 years now. How do you keep your relationship fresh, especially with the demands your career puts on you?

I’m such a neurotic person that it always feels like the first date, and I’m always uncomfortable, as if she’s just about to jump out of the car, so it is always fresh to me.

You, your wife, and your girls are all in the movie business. Is it hard to separate work life from family life?

It isn’t hard because we don’t try. We like working together. It allows us to spend time together, to work out problems creatively together. I do shut it off when I can, but if I am in the middle of something, that is very hard. The girls lose all interest in the movies once they have stopped shooting it. They won’t even watch it. My older daughter, Maude, might watch one of my movies for 15 minutes, but then she turns it off.

Do you have a personal health philosophy?

Not a philosophy, but I think more and more about my health. I force myself to do what I need to do rather than what I want to do, like put myself in a McDonald's coma. I’d rather lie in bed watching reality shows than exercise, but you reach an age where what you do actually affects your life expectancy. I have never worked out to look good. But I do work out to not die.

What is your best health habit?

Most of it is pretty simple. If you exercise some every day and cut back on meat and dairy, you’re probably doing fine. For me, if I want a hamburger, I make myself reach for a seaweed cracker or something instead, even though I don’t like it as much. Then, maybe once every three weeks, I allow myself that hamburger.

What is your worst health habit?

I like pizza too much.

What do you know now about your health that you wish you’d learned earlier in life?

I ate fettuccine Alfredo every night for five years when I was at the Improv. I wish I’d known then how bad that was for me.

Is your health a priority? Did that change at all after you turned 40?

It’s always been a priority, but I have often failed to live up to what I know I should be doing, though I’ve done better in the last few years. When I turned 30, my doctor told me if I took better care of myself, I’d be a really young 40. Now that I’m doing better, I’m thinking I’ll be a really young 50.