For Scott Wolf, Being ‘Present’ Beats Having a Bucket List

What character would you want to revisit, but now as 50-something-year-old?

That would be the first sort of substantial character I played, which was Bailey Salinger on Party of Five. When I talk to people about Party of Five, it's all these years later and they talk about it like they watched it last Wednesday night. It’s not as if it were 30 years ago. And so the fact that that's still alive in people, this idea of revisiting characters at this later part of their lives, it would be a really cool exercise artistically in the examination of the human condition. This idea of stepping back in and going, where are they now and why?

Is there interest?

Yes. A couple of years ago, there was some momentum toward something — not a reboot, but a re-imagining. And that became something where people thought, Oh, is it too close to that? But I never say never. I think it would be very à la Party of Five to have it centered around a funeral.

What's the best part about getting older?

I think some of the intensity — which is sort of fun, and you feed off it — about who you are as a professional and a human being, and the maintenance of those things. It feels like a lot of life force gets pushed into that, and I think it relaxes a bit at this point. You kind of know who you are and even the sort of demands that you might place on yourself in terms of where you need to be and when and how it needs to look. Things just soften in a way with experience. And perspective is a beautiful thing, especially with my kids, with my family. It's also a big deal at work. I think I show up now, and I appreciate it more than ever, and I'm more grateful for it than ever.

Scott Wolf as Bailey Salinger on "Party of Five."

Rob Brown/FOX Network/Courtesy Everett Collection

You’re now and were the elder on projects like the CW's 2019 mystery drama Nancy Drew and now Doc. What’s that like?

[Nancy Drew] definitely felt like a transition point. In smaller projects I played a dad, but I really got “the dad stamp” doing the Nancy Drew show. The producers had expressed to me something that meant a lot to me — that they had called and talked to other people I had worked with and they were inviting me in for my talent and my ability to play the character, but that it also mattered to them to have somebody around who felt like they could be a mentor and could help build a culture that they believed in. And that really meant a lot to me, because it [has] mattered to me how I showed up.

What’s your best advice for these young actors?

My advice always has been keep your eye on the work. Love the work. And then the rest will be manageable, because you have this sort of ballast that really matters to you. Don't get pulled into the shiny-object thing. It's hard work and not easy to come by. But if you really commit yourself to it and love it, then all that other stuff will fall into place, and it won't hold meaning that can just make your life a lot more complicated.

Along with a steady career, you’ve been married 20 years. What’s the secret?

Marry the right person. I've always known that making that choice and being chosen by the right person, it's the gift of a life. I'm lucky to be married to an incredible human being who is so emotionally intelligent and so kind and so good and committed to all the things that matter most. Having a foundation that you believe in each other and believe in your mission that you created together, especially if you’re building a family. I feel really lucky that, yeah, I married the person that I want to see across the breakfast table every morning.

Now that you’re 56, are you feeling that bucket-list kind of thing?

Not necessarily. I just always feel like I'm wanting to be moving forward. With young kids, there’s the [sense that the] days are numbered we even have with them, and time flies. So I don't know if it's “bucket list-y” as much as really wanting to be present.