Parenting & Family Quote by Rene Auberjonois

Actor-charming on the surface, quietly loaded underneath: Rene Auberjonois is talking about a dog, but he is really talking about the privilege of space, the tenderness of family logistics, and the way artists build “normal life” in the margins between gigs. The setup is domestic and transient - a daughter “in town” for a play, a pet temporarily rehomed - the kind of practical shuffle that defines backstage culture more than opening-night glamour. He doesn’t romanticize the theater; he frames it as something that displaces routines and requires a support system.

Then comes the flex that doesn’t fully announce itself: “We live up in the hills… thousands of acres of wilderness.” It’s an image of abundance that’s presented as mere circumstance, which is exactly why it lands. Auberjonois’ tone is casual, even chatty, but the subtext is a portrait of a certain American cultural class: people close enough to the city’s creative churn to participate, far enough away to retreat into pastoral insulation. The dog becomes a proxy for freedom - not the abstract, political kind, but the bodily kind: room to run, safety, an unmetered horizon.

There’s also a gentle generational note. His daughter is working, he’s caretaking. The wilderness isn’t just scenery; it’s a quiet claim that the family has built a home base sturdy enough to absorb the turbulence of performance life. The line’s real intent is reassurance: everyone’s covered, even the dog, and the world beyond the stage is wide and holding.