Liev Schreiber struggles, while Naomi Watts does well after split

“I DON’T like everybody not living in the same house anymore,” Liev Schreiber says about his split from Naomi Watts. Meanwhile his ex is doing very well.

Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber before their split. Picture: Instagram

AFTER 11 years together, Liev Schreiber is still struggling to find his feet after splitting with Naomi Watts. The two are now co-parenting their sons Sasha, 10, and Kai, 8.

“I hate change and I hate adjusting,” he tells news.com.au. “I don’t like everybody not living in the same house anymore. [The split] really knocked me out and I have spent a year struggling with that. It’s been hard not having my family around me.”

Now that Schreiber, 49, is a single man again, it means finding new digs. “I hate moving. I really hate moving. I’m very lazy, actually,” he laughs.

“But it’s just slowly getting better. It’s hard to do it in the public eye, I’ll tell you that much. Any time I go out on the street or I get photographed with someone, suddenly that’s my new relationship. It’s just f**king ridiculous.”

Liev Schreiber in a scene from "Ray Donovan." Picture: Michael Desmond/Showtime

Schreiber, who plays the titular role in Ray Donovan, a “fixer” with repressed anger issues, says the show has impacted his life. “I’ve thought a lot about that lately. I don’t have any answers but particularly in the last two years I’ve realised, ‘Jesus, this affected me!’

The last time news.com spoke to the Ray Donovan star, in September last year, he was teary-eyed when speaking about his sons. The following morning it was announced that he and Watts had broken up. “Now you now why I was like that,” he explains. “Now you know.”

Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber at the Oscars in February 2016. They announced their split the following September. Picture: AFP Photo / Valerie Macon

In contrast to her ex, Watts seems to be handling the break-up a little easier. In a New York hotel a few days later while promoting her two projects: Gypsy, in which she plays a derailed therapist, plus the upcoming movie, The Glass Castle, where she plays the wife of an eccentric alcoholic, she says, “I don’t want to get into it too much, but [being single] is a new experience for me. And yeah, I am just navigating it here as we speak,” she nods.

“We will see how things go,” she says cautiously. “But personally, yeah, things are going well. The boys are happy and healthy and doing incredibly well.”

Amid reports she and her Gypsy co-star, Billy Crudup, are in a relationship, she deftly changes the subject about her personal life.

She offers, “I just got back from Kenya two days ago which was a wonderful experience to share with my kids. It was a lifelong dream for Sasha because he has always been so interested in nature and animals, so we got to finally do it. I have always talked about waiting for the right age, so it was great.”

“We live such busy lives which are highly over-scheduled and so just seeing them with no internet, no iPads or anything, just out there driving around and looking at animals, it overpowers you.”

Naomi Watts and Billy Crudup in a scene from Gypsy. The pair are rumoured to be dating.

Speaking of travelling, she says, “We’ll definitely get back to Australia this year especially because last year we didn’t make it.”

Both actors will celebrate their 50th birthday soon (Schreiber in October, and Watts in September next year). How do they feel about this milestone?

Watts says, “Privately, I will probably have some little awkward moments with that concept.

“And yes, I am watching a lot of my friends going to 50th birthday parties [notably Nicole Kidman] and joining in on those speeches and what we have achieved together.

“There are a lot of encouraging stories and great powerful memories of things that we’ve been through and things to look forward to. I feel really lucky to share great friendships with really a great number of strong women so I am mostly feeling good about it and encouraged by the support of my friends.”

At the mention of his looming birthday, Schreiber smiles.

“Thanks for bringing it up! I remember being 25 and thinking, ‘God. I’d love to do voice-over work. And here I am, I’ve got a TV show and I’m the lead,” he says.

“I don’t think I ever imagined that I would be where I am now. I’ve got a nice house, I’ve got nice clothes. I’ve got all that stuff. That’s great.”

With two actors as parents, odds are that at least one of their offspring will probably inherit the acting gene. How would Schreiber feel about that?

“It’s tricky. It’s difficult because we are one of the seven per cent that’s employed. So it’s very difficult to say. But at the same time they’re like me and Naomi.”

One thing the estranged couple resolutely have in common is that their kids come first.

Schreiber says, “Parenting is about not being the star of the show and I enjoy not being the centre of the universe. When you’re a young actor you have to be the centre of your universe and it’s what drives you.

“It’s a real relief to have kids and move on from that way of thinking. That’s a change that I embrace.”

Originally published as Liev Schreiber struggles, while Naomi Watts does well after split