Bobby Cannavale Reveals His Newborn Son's Name & the Sweet Family Inspiration Behind It (Exclusive)

The proud dad also shared news about his return to 'Will & Grace.'

Just a few weeks after his longtime love, Rose Byrne, gave birth to their second son, Bobby Cannavale is ready to reveal the name!

ET's Deidre Behar spoke with the actor at the premiere of his new animated film, Ferdinand, on Sunday, and Cannavale admitted that he's still feeling the effects of having a newborn in the house, alongside the couple's almost two-year-old son, Rocco.

"It's going great. We're a... little bit of lack of sleep in the house, but we're doing well," said Cannavale, who is also father to a 22-year-old son, Jake, from his previous marriage to Jenny Lumet.

And in the tradition of giving his kids cool names like Rocco and Jake, what did they name their newest addition?

"Rafa," Cannavale revealed. 

The name is a nod to both Cannavale's Latin heritage and a famous tennis star.

"I hadn't given one of my children a Latin name yet, so I wanted to honor my mom's side of the family," the 47-year-old actor explained. "And, you know, Rafael Nadal had such a great year and we were constantly keeping up with him and watching all his matches so we were like, 'How about Rafa? That goes well with Rocco.' And that was it."

Speaking of Rocco, Cannavale said he's handling his big brother duties well. 

"He's a terrific big brother," the proud dad marveled. "He's wonderful with him, and really gentle with him, and my oldest is great with both of them. We couldn't ask for anything more."

Cannavale voices Valiente the bull in the John Cena-starring Ferdinand, in theaters Dec. 15, and felt a familial connection to the tale of the bull of refused to fight.

"It was my favorite book!" the actor exclaimed. "And now I have a 22-year-old, I used to read it to him, and now I have a 22-month-old and I have a 4-week-old...we read it every night before we go to bed."

"I've always loved the story," he added. "I always felt different as a kid and that book sort of always validated my feeling different, and made me feel like, comfortable. It was a great bedtime story to read. It's a really nice story to read to your kids before they go to bed, because it makes them feel like they can be who they want to be. It's a little great book about non-conformity that I love."

The Boardwalk Empire star is also set to return to Will & Grace later this season, as Eric McCormack's love interest, Vince, from the original series. McCormack recently promised closure for the on-screen couple's story, but Cannavale played it a little more coy.

"I can't tell you any more than that," he said of his appearance. "There definitely is closure to the character and I think people will be genuinely surprised. It was a really funny episode to shoot."

For more on the Will & Grace reboot, watch the video below.

RELATED CONTENT:

Latest News