Clean-cut, polite, and Midwestern to the core, Chris O’Donnell even apologizes for not mustering a short answer to a short question. We forgive the 40-year-old actor the occasional ramble, because his day job, chasing down criminals on NCIS: Los Angeles, is calm compared to the kiddie-land chaos at home. O’Donnell and wife Caroline wrangle a brood of five. “On Saturday morning,” he says, “it’s like we’re shot out of a cannon.” Family weekends begin—no joke—with four soccer games, two football games, and a riding lesson. “My wife and I split up and cover the town,” he explains. “All day we text each other scores.” No wonder the former Boy Wonder can only talk while he’s at work. That’s where Kate Meyers caught up with him.
