Tony Goldwyn Predicts He’ll Be a ‘Mess’ at Daughter Anna’s Wedding This Summer: ‘I Get Emotional’ (Exclusive)

The actor tells PEOPLE that his kids have always anticipated him being a weepy father-of-the-bride

Tony Goldwyn is preparing for an emotional day when his daughter gets married this summer.

The Law & Order star, 64, tells PEOPLE he expects he'll be "a mess" watching his eldest, Anna, 34, walk down the aisle.

"That's what I'm most nervous about, is being able to get through it. Because I just get very emotional regarding my children," says the Ezra actor, who also shares daughter Tess, 29, with wife Jane Musky.

He jokes that his girls have long predicted he'll be a weepy father-of-the-bride when the day comes. "From the time my kids were young, they're like, 'Dad, you're just not going to make it through your wedding speeches. You know that,' " he says.

Goldwyn also opened up about how both of his daughters have followed in his footsteps with careers in the entertainment industry — Anna is a television writer and Tess is an actress and a writer.

He says seeing his kids find something they're so passionate about makes him and Musky, who works as a production designer, feel "lucky." "Because we know how lucky we are to have something, and a lot of people who do jobs that they're not passionate about may make a good living, but they kind of go, 'Ah, I hate my job,' " he explains.

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"So they knew how hard it was and they have both been through both sides of it, having success and struggle, and that's just, they know that's part of the deal," he adds of Tess and Anna.

Related: Tony Goldwyn on Connection to Shonda Rhimes That Led to His Scandal Casting: Things 'Come Around' (Exclusive)

The Scandal alum recalls bringing Anna to work with him on the set of Law & Order — he was directing an episode at the time — when she was 15 years old and being surprised that she was "absolutely rapt" by the proceedings.

"She stood right by me. I was shocked, because some kids get bored on set," he says. "And that night I took her to dinner after we wrapped and she said, 'Dad, this is what I want to do with the rest of my life.' And she did, though she decided it was writing, not so much directing yet."

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While Goldwyn prepares for Anna's wedding, he and Musky, 69, recently celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary on April 18. When asked about the secret to the couple's long and happy marriage, the SAG Awards nominee tells PEOPLE it comes down to "respect."

"That I married someone who I have a very deep respect for, both her professional gifts, but also her humanity and her character. I just am always sort of in awe of who she is as a person. That makes our relationship always interesting to me," he says.

Related: Tony Goldwyn Says He Still Feels Like Law & Order's 'New Guy' After Filming Show's 500th Episode (Exclusive)

"If I could be arrogant enough or stupid enough to offer any advice to anybody, it would be to love a person for who they are," he continues. "Because I think the trap we fall into is we have some fantasy or ideal of what we think a person should be. And what I've learned in marriage is you marry multiple people because we all evolve as we grow."

As a result of their mutual love and respect, he says, the pair's relationship has only deepened over time. "I've come, in the past decade or two, to have learned to really appreciate and love Jane for who she is and she does the same for me — my foibles and my strengths. And that has been a beautiful revelation for me," Goldwyn adds.

Law & Order airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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