Ashton Kutcher has accepted many awards as an actor — but this one got him choked up.
Kutcher was in his home state of Iowa April 8 to receive the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award from Drake University, which is given to “individuals who consistently demonstrate good character as a visible role model.”
“You know, I’m probably the first guy to get this award who had a deferred judgment for a felony burglary for trying to break into my high school,” Kutcher said, starting off his speech with a joke about his younger years.
Kutcher, 39, dedicated the award to his parents, his brother and his wife, Mila Kunis, who he says schools him in character every day.
“It’s for my wife, who kicks my ass on character every day. I mean I’m telling you, this morning, I woke up and she kicked my ass on character. I thought I was awesome because I got up early and helped with the kids before she woke up and I let her sleep a little bit and then she’s like, ‘Well now you gonna act tired? I do it every day,’” Kutcher said. “But it was a character moment, right? Because she’s right. … That’s a kind of jerk way to give something to someone. ‘Oh, I worked so hard to give you this gift.’”
Kutcher said 2-year-old daughter Wyatt and 4-month-old son Dimitri taught him the “greatest, greatest lesson in character” of his life.
“When my wife and I had these kids and we got to share that amazing, amazing, amazing honor, my first response was I wanted to call my parents and say, ‘I’m sorry because I never knew how much you loved me,’” Kutcher said.
