In this episode of the Dad Spotlight we interview Joe Nieves, actor on the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle about being a father  personally but also having to play a father in such a public role of seven kids on this popular series!

About Stuck in the Middle

Inventor, experimenter, mediator and persuader Harley Diaz maneuvers her way through the bustle that comes with being part of her happy family of nine, from the unique vantage point of being a tween middle child, & Stuck in the Middle & a single-camera comedy series geared towards kids 6-14 and their families.

The heartfelt and comedic stories of a big family find Harley devising creative ways to cope with – and stand out – in her family’s busy suburban Massachusetts household. Her ingenuity often wins the day for the Diaz family, even with many different personalities living under one roof.

The Diaz parents, Suzy and Tom, also have six other kids: Rachel the somewhat self-involved eldest; Georgie, a motivational athlete; Ethan, Harley’s closest ally; invincible and indestructible twins Lewie and & Beast and the strong-willed baby of the family, Daphne.

Starring are Jenna Ortega as Harley Diaz, Isaak Presley as Ethan Diaz, Ronni Hawk as Rachel Diaz, Kayla Maisonet as Georgie Diaz, Nicolas Bechtel as Lewie Diaz, Malachi Barton as Beast; Diaz, Ariana Greenblatt as Daphne Diaz, Cerina Vincent as Suzy Diaz, and Joe Nieves as Tom Diaz.

Linda Videtti Figueiredo ([amazon text=Rules of Engagement&asin=B00AALZMY8] and [amazon text=Last Man Standing&asin=B00K8HAKSW]) serves as executive producer. The series was created by Alison Brown ([amazon text=Dog With A Blog&asin=B009PXLIHW]). It is from Horizon Productions, Inc., and carries a TV-G parental guideline.

If you have never seen Stuck in the Middle before, Joe Nieves plays Tom Diaz, the father of seven on the show. The show itself is set in Massachusetts, and tells the story of the Diaz family, specifically focusing on Harley, the middle of the seven children. Harley makes her way using her abilities as a prodigy in engineering to deal with the problems of being in a large family.

Joe Nieves told us that being a father of seven on the show he has come to a better appreciation for all that parents of large families go through. As a father of a 2.5 year old and 8 month old Joe Nieves says that what he is experiencing on Stuck in the Middle is giving him a taste of things to come in the future with his own kids.

In the show there is an understanding that things may get missed and things will get messy but in the end everyone will get on the same page and everything will be ok if the family comes together in the end.

We talked a bit about the chemistry that is seen on the show. Joe Nieves said that the kids on the show, right off the bat were siblings. Joe Nieves said that he cannot believe that they are not siblings. He said that they got the trifecta as it came to good acting, physical looks and chemistry. Most shows are not this lucky!

Joe Nieves said that he had a chance to play a dad a few years ago but he really did not understand what it meant to be a father. Now that he is a father, he better understands what it means to be a father. As it came to playing an iconic tv dad he said that he plays it the best that he can and he hopes that dads can learn from him.

When it came to role models that helped Joe Nievesbecome the father that he is today, he credits his own father, a past firefighter from New York City and a man who worked hard at all times. Outside of his family, he said that he loved the dad that John Goodman played on Rosanne.

Joe Nieves said that being a dad is one of the best and the hardest jobs that he has had but he has loved every moment of the journey!