Celebrities share best advice dads gave them

NEW YORK - Dads sometimes know best.

In time for Father’s Day, a range of artists from film, television and music shared the most valuable lessons from their dads:

Patty Jenkins, “Wonder Woman” director, daughter of a Vietnam War veteran: “Perseverance and focus, first of all, because I think that that kind of job of being a fighter pilot is strangely difficult. You’re on your own and you just have to put one foot in front of the other, figuratively speaking, to get things done and to deal with whatever comes up. And that actually comes up. That is very present in my life as a director every day.”

James Taylor, music legend: “Just to be there for your family. I’ve tried to be as much as possible. If there is a struggle, that’s it, trying to balance family life and life on the road.”

Hugh Jackman, “Logan” star: “Education. He preached education. And passion, like find whatever you’re good at then do everything you can to learn every bit of it, and don’t go out into the world until you’ve studied.”

Bonnie Raitt, daughter of the late Broadway musical star John Raitt: “I think his positivity and seeing the good in people. He just never said bad words about anyone. I really believe it was that outlook, really honoring people and trying to find out who they really are underneath what they present themselves to be.”

Kate Mara, star of the film “Megan Leavey”: “The one that I sort of use every day, I guess, is just a good handshake because in this business, specifically, but I’m sure everybody meets new people on a daily basis, a firm handshake, I think, goes a long way. To this day there’s nothing worse than kind of a half-ass handshake from someone. I think it says a lot about your character.”

Bryan Cranston, star of “Wakefield”: “You reflect on being a son, you reflect on being a father, and it’s a good time. For past issues that I’ve had with my father, now he’s passed and you kind of think of things differently. But the joy for me is being so proud of my daughter, who’s now 24 and an actor in her own right, and independent and a freethinking, funny, talented young woman.”

Mayim Bialik, co-star of “The Big Bang Theory”: “He taught me a lot of lessons. My dad had a really big personality, and he was a really gracious person. I don’t know if it’s a lesson in particular but it was a way that he was. He wasn’t afraid to let his big personality show, and sometimes that was a good thing and sometimes it was a bad thing. But when he walked into a room you knew it. That’s a powerful lesson, to see the presence of a person.”

Matt Smith, star of “The Crown” on Netflix: “My dad said to me very early on, ‘It’s not the disappointments, son. It’s how you get over them.’ And that, that — I’ll pass that onto my son, you know? Yeah. He was 70 (recently) so we kind of celebrated his birthday. He’s a very important man in my life, my dad. Probably the most important.”